Ornithologist Juita Martinez awarded prestigious Knauss Fellowship

[Fern Davies]

Juita Martinez (ABD, Louisiania State at Lafayette) has been awarded a prestigious Knauss Fellowship from the Sea Grant program of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

The National Sea Grant College program was established by the U.S. Congress in 1966 and works to create and maintain a healthy coastal environment and economy. The Sea Grant network consists of a federal/university partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and 34 university-based programs in every coastal and Great Lakes state, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The network draws on the expertise of more than 3,000 scientists, engineers, public outreach experts, educators and students to help citizens better understand, conserve and utilize America's coastal resources.

Martinez recently completed another prestigious fellowship at the National Academies of Science. The Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship Program is a full-time hands-on training and educational program that provides early career individuals with the opportunity to spend 12 weeks at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Washington, DC learning about science and technology policy and the role that scientists and engineers play in advising the nation. This Mirzayan Fellowship offers a unique opportunity to obtain the essential skills and knowledge needed to work in science policy at the federal, state, or local levels.

At Louisiana State, Martinez studied the effects of barrier island restoration on Louisiana's brown pelican population trends. She was also one of the original founders of Black Birders' Week.