{"id":20505,"date":"2025-07-02T11:47:39","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T15:47:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/?p=20505"},"modified":"2025-07-02T11:47:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T15:47:40","slug":"oconnor-nsf-research-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/news\/oconnor-nsf-research-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Nick O’Connor on Marine Science Research Experiences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nick O\u2019Connor, a marine biology <\/a>and aquaculture and fisheries science<\/a> double major from Burlington, Connecticut, is passionate about advancing field survey methodology for fisheries. This summer, he\u2019s getting hands-on experience doing so thanks to the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates program<\/a>, which supports intensive research by undergraduate students in any NSF-funded area of research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Connor is spending ten weeks at Rutgers University\u2019s Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory in Port Norris, New Jersey. The lab is dedicated to research, education, and extension in support of sustainable shellfish and finfish resources and fisheries, and O\u2019Connor says he is excited about contributing to a new and upcoming survey technique there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have primarily been working independently on my own research project,\u201d he says, \u201cutilizing camera mounted fish traps to gauge changes in fish distributions, particularly commercially important structure-associated fish such as black sea bass.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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O’Connor (center) sorts through oysters on a commercial oyster dredge boat as part of a long-term oyster stock assessment in Delaware Bay, New Jersey. Joey O\u2019Brien (right) is a fisheries technician and Amanda Lemasters (left) is a seasonal marine field technician with Rutgers University\u2019s Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

He\u2019s also helped survey wild oysters aboard a commercial oyster vessel and assisted with tagging surf clams and ribbed mussels at the New Jersey Aquaculture Innovation Center. All in all, he says his experience so far has been nothing short of “life-changing.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExperiencing a totally new research environment, not just at a marine field station but with a diverse cast of interns and researchers, has been really rewarding,\u201d O\u2019Connor says. \u201cEveryone has been beyond supportive of my goals and research.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Connor notes that participation in the NSF program has helped him find his niche within marine research. \u201cI\u2019ve thoroughly enjoyed working on a project that I see myself pursuing not just into my senior year at URI but into graduate school and beyond,\u201d he says. \u201cThis internship has instilled in me a deep passion for fisheries research, and through the connections and mentorship I receive, I feel well-prepared to contribute to this growing field and bring about meaningful change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last summer, O\u2019Connor completed a College of the Environment and Life Sciences (CELS) Summer Research Fellowship<\/a> with the Audubon Society of Rhode Island. As he assessed the usage of atypical spawning sites by Atlantic horseshoe crabs, he says he gained invaluable skills with marine research methods\u2013and enjoyed working with a species he is \u201cincredibly passionate\u201d about.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI cultivated skills in critically analyzing scientific papers, developed research methods, and learned important fieldwork skills such as using a quadrant and transect tape,\u201d he says of the fellowship. \u201cAnd working with this species really strengthened my passion for marine science.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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O’Connor worked with Atlantic horseshoe crabs as part of a CELS Summer Research Fellowship last summer. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

While his position with the NSF program is off-campus, O\u2019Connor credits the support he\u2019s received on-campus as vital to his success. \u201cCELS has been instrumental in helping me get to this position in my undergraduate career,\u201d O\u2019Connor says. \u201cBeing a part of such supportive groups, including the CELS Peer Mentor Program and CELS Ambassadors, has allowed me to connect with faculty and peers that have gone above and beyond to help me grow personally and professionally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now on the cusp of wrapping up his undergraduate years, O\u2019Connor says his best advice to students beginning their college career is to apply for opportunities. \u201cWhether it be an internship with a research lab, or fellowship with a state organization, gaining these experiences as an undergrad will help shape the trajectory of your career,\u201d he says. \u201cYou might learn that you absolutely love a certain area of work, and equally important, you might learn that you don\u2019t want to pursue a certain area. In the end, experiential learning is there to help you discover your passions, clarify your goals, and forge a future for yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nick O\u2019Connor, a marine biology and aquaculture and fisheries science double major, is participating in the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates program this summer at Rutgers University’s Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory. He is conducting research using camera-mounted fish traps to study fish distributions around artificial reefs off the Jersey shore. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1089,"featured_media":20506,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1089"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20505"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20517,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20505\/revisions\/20517"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}