Three faculty and five students, as well as recent Alumni Tiffany Smythe, Sarah Smith, and Dawn Kotowicz of the Department of Marine Affairs presented at the Social Coast Forum in Charleston, SC. The Social Coast Forum, hosted by NOAA, is one of the most well-known coastal and marine based social science conferences. It focuses on the application and integration of social science in coastal decision-making and how tools and methods can be used to address coastal issues, including climate change, land and water use planning, ecosystem services, and human use of the ocean.

While learning from some of the nations leading practitioners of social science,  the students also spent time networking with alumni and MAF faculty. Alumni shared with us, over tacos, their experiences after grad school. “It was a great to hear the different paths Marine Affairs grads can take. My fellow students and I will be graduating this year, so this was a fantastic opportunity to meet future colleagues,” said Eric Kretsch (MAMA 2016). I also served as a time for students to spend time together and create lasting memories.

The trip down was an exciting one. Four of the students made the drive and visited friends in Blacksburg, VA, Washington D.C., and Newark, DE. After 2000 plus miles and listening to all of the Serial Podcasts, they arrived in Charleston. Faculty, meanwhile, encountered a winter snowstorm and cancelled flights out of PVD!

As the Department of Marine Affairs specializes in coastal related issues, students and faculty focus on specific coastal issues, but incorporate expertise and knowledge from many different fields. At this year’s social coast, students and faculty presented projects on offshore wind energy, aquaculture, climate change’s impact on tourism, coastal climate resilience, seaport resilience, and marine debris.

Below you will find a list of faculty, alumni, and student presentations.

• What do people think about shellfish aquaculture in Rhode Island coastal waters? – Prof. Tracey Dalton and Prof. Robert Thompson
• Ocean meanings and support for an offshore windfarm – Prof. David Bidwell
• More holistic planning for long-term coastal resilience? Port of Providence demonstration project – Prof. Austin Becker and Prof. Richard Burroughs
• Lessons from the field: Synthesizing the collective wisdom of the marine planning practitioner network – Jennifer McCann and Dr. Tiffany Smyth; Rhode Island Sea Grant, Coastal Resources Center
• Communicating how to assess risk and what to do next – Dr. Dawn Kotowicz and Michelle Carnevale; Coastal Resources Center, Rhode Island Sea Grant
• Ranking environmental stressors in coastal and marine ecosystems: Developing a framework for prioritization – Sarah Lindley Smith, Shannon Cunniff, Jake Kritzer, Natalie Peyronnin; Environmental Defense Fund
• Investigating coastal tourism and climate change in the coastal ponds of Rhode Island: A multi-method approach – Emily Patrolia
• Stakeholder perceptions of the public participation process for the Block Island Wind Farm – Joe Dwyer and Prof. David Bidwell
• Examining stakeholder perceptions of shellfish aquaculture management in Rhode Island and Massachusetts – Laura Hansen
• Controlling marine debris: An exploration of the responsible behavior of recreational users in Rhode Island – Sarina Lyon and Prof. David Bidwell
• Leadership and responsibility for long-term hurricane resilience: Stakeholder perceptions at the port of Providence, Rhode Island – Eric Kretsch and Prof. Austin Becker