“There is a growing interest in oceanography in South Korea,” said David Smith, associate dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography, “and we have a number of informal collaborations with scientists and universities there.”

Jae-Hun Park, an associate marine research scientist at GSO, has recently taken a position at the Korean Ocean Research and Development Institute and plans to continue his collaboration with GSO. Smith noted that there are many more opportunities to collaborate with scientists at the Korean institute, and having Park there will facilitate these efforts.

Oceanography Professor Isaac Ginis as been collaborating with scientists in Korea on the study of tropical cyclones for more than 10 years. The Korean Ocean Research and Development Institute is funding Ginis’s research to develop a typhoon prediction model for the Korean Meteorological Agency, and he has organized two workshops in Korea on the interaction between typhoons and the ocean.

Recently, thirty-two students from an accelerated high school in South Korea spent two weeks at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography learning the principles of oceanography and participating in hands-on science activities in and around Narragansett Bay.

The visit was part of GSO’s International Oceanography Explorers program coordinated by its Office of Marine Programs.

From July 4 through 14, the Korean students conducted beach profile surveys, observed a fish trawl, collected plankton and sediment samples, conducted laboratory analyses, and toured a fish hatchery, a research aquarium and other facilities at URI.  They also went on a whale watch and toured the aquaculture lab at Roger Williams University.

The teachers in the program are former GSO student and Roger Williams Professor Scott Rutherford, current GSO student Daniel Whitesell, recent URI graduate Christine Newton, and science educator Jill Johnen. The program was designed specifically to meet the interest and needs of the Korean students.

For more information, please read the full press release.