CERF Legacy Fund Awardees

2023: Alice Staro, Boston University

The Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF) is proud to announce that the 2023 CERF Legacy Fund Scholarship is presented to Alice Staro, a PhD candidate in the Department of Earth and Environment at Boston University. Staro is a coastal sedimentologist who studies how relatively recent geological processes have shaped coastal zones and how extreme events such as storms and hurricanes can aid the resiliency of these areas to sea level rise (SLR) induced by climate change. She uses fieldwork, remote sensing, and laboratory analyses to answer questions about sediment pathways and the timing of depositional processes to explain the formation of cheniers and beach ridges, and how hurricane-related sediment deposition can aid salt marshes resiliency to SLR. Her studies have implications for the management of coastal zones and can help communities in making science-based resiliency plans. The CERF Legacy Fund Scholarship will support her radiocarbon analyses to further the understanding of cheniers formation in the Tijucas Cheniers Plain of Brazil.

The selection committee praised Staro’s commitment to fostering inclusion and considering the societal impact of her research, and the clear articulation of how these funds will help her to achieve her research and career goals.

2021: Jennifer Loch, University of Central Florida

The Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF) is proud to announce that the CERF Legacy Fund Scholarship 2021 is presented to Jennifer Loch, a PhD candidate at the University of Central Florida.

Ms. Loch (soon to be “Dr. Loch”) has an impressive, diverse research background, including numerous first-authored publications, awards, and practical experience teaching and serving as an environmental lands specialist. Her PhD project focuses on using stable isotope analyses to explore the impact of habitat restoration on sportfish trophic dynamics in the Indian River Lagoon, FL, ultimately providing insight into the success of future restoration-based solutions that can improve ecologically, economically and culturally important fish populations in the Indian River Lagoon and beyond. The selection committee was pleased to see Ms. Loch’s commitment to pursuing a career where she can leverage her understanding on ecological interactions to make meaningful, practical impacts on critical management issues.

2019: Jamila Roth, University of Florida

The Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF) is proud to announce the recipient of the first CERF Legacy Fund Scholarship. Jamila Roth, a PhD candidate at the University of Florida, has been selected for the inaugural award.  Roth studies how seagrass species diversity impacts their resistance and resilience to warming temperatures. Roth currently has funding to study four different possible responses to these warming temperatures; the Legacy Fund Scholarship will allow her to augment her research by studying an additional response variable.

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