{"id":13427,"date":"2026-10-31T15:24:51","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T19:24:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/?p=13427"},"modified":"2026-10-31T15:25:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T19:25:21","slug":"maf-kenerson-and-coons-award-winners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/2026\/10\/31\/maf-kenerson-and-coons-award-winners\/","title":{"rendered":"MAF Kenerson and Coons Award Winners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Department of Marine Affairs is pleased to announce this year\u2019s scholarship recipients. Tiahnna Dalpezzo received the Ken and Laura Kenerson Endowed Scholarship, and Jonathan Kabak and Christopher Burke each received a Kenelm W. Coons Marine Affairs Scholarship. Their work ranges from oyster populations to autonomous vessels to the South China Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kenerson Scholarship was established by Ken and Laura Kenerson, alumni who met as students at URI, and supports Marine Affairs majors with financial need who are studying coastal issues. The Coons Scholarship was created by the family and friends of Kenelm \u201cKen\u201d Coons (MMA \u201978), who went back to school mid-career for his master\u2019s in marine affairs, and it supports graduate students who are doing the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tiahnna Dalpezzo standing beside the Ram statue on the URI Kingston campus<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had no idea what the Marine Affairs program entailed,\u201d said Tiahnna Dalpezzo. One class at URI changed that, and she is now a double major in marine biology and marine affairs. She works in Dr. Jonathan Puritz\u2019s lab, where she studies how multiple coastal stressors affect eastern oyster populations. In December she will present a poster on that research at the College of the Environment and Life Sciences Summer Fellowship poster session. The faculty are part of the draw for her. \u201cTheir enthusiasm makes the material more interesting and encourages me to explore topics beyond the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Capt. Jonathan Kabak at the helm of the Oliver Hazard Perry<\/em> at sunset<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Capt. Jonathan Kabak spent years at sea and as a program director and now serves as CEO of Maritime Rhode Island. He had known the program\u2019s reputation for decades and enrolled part time for the chance at \u201crediscovering the joys of being a student.\u201d His research looks at how Rhode Islanders understand the blue economy and at the regulatory framework now taking shape for autonomous vessels. His classmates\u2019 presentations at a seminar session left him \u201cabsolutely blown away\u201d by the range of topics, from microplastics to South Pacific fishing techniques. The Coons award is allowing him to complete his degree this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Christopher Burke on a flight deck<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christopher Burke has worn many uniforms: \u201csalty weathered topsiders and an embroidered polo\u201d as a harbormaster, \u201cboots and a stethoscope\u201d as an emergency medical technician, and now the uniform of a Navy Reservist. He is writing his Master of Marine Affairs major project on whether U.S. Navy Freedom of Navigation Operations deter Chinese \u201cgrey-zone\u201d coercion in the South China Sea. He is also completing the Graduate Certificate in Coastal Resilience, with a focus on South Kingstown\u2019s harbors. After graduating, he hopes to continue his service through a direct commission in the U.S. Coast Guard as an environmental manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congratulations to all three! And thank you to the donors who made these awards possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Department of Marine Affairs is pleased to announce this year\u2019s scholarship recipients. Tiahnna Dalpezzo received the Ken and Laura Kenerson Endowed Scholarship, and Jonathan Kabak and Christopher Burke each received a Kenelm W. Coons Marine Affairs Scholarship. Their work ranges from oyster populations to autonomous vessels to the South China Sea. The Kenerson Scholarship […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":809,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/809"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13427"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13427\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13435,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13427\/revisions\/13435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/maf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}