Graduate students awarded prestigious National Science Foundation fellowships

Summit of Cleveland volcano in Alaska's central Aleutian Islands. Credit: Cindy Werner, Alaska Volcano Observatory.

Three SOEST graduate students were selected for the prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship Program with the National Science Foundation. The five-year fellowship provides three years of financial support inclusive of an annual stipend of $37,000.

The purpose of the program is to broaden participation of the full spectrum of diverse talents in STEM and help ensure the quality, vitality, and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States.  

Joelle Kanoelani Mattos  

Joelle Mattos, an oceanography doctoral student, is investigating effects of the Lahaina wildfire on coastal ocean biogeochemistry and determining how potential stressors associated with the fires impact coral reef ecosystem metabolism. Advised by assistant professor of oceanography Andrea Kealoha, Mattos will assess the effects of coastal acidification, oxygen levels, and how runoff from land may be adding nutrients to the coastal zone. Through this research, Mattos hopes to provide insights to understand the fire’s impact on the environment and potentially aid in recovery efforts.

Keanu Rochette-Yu Tsuen   

Keanu Rochette-Yu Tsuen, an oceanography master’s student, is focused on understanding how climate change, local pollution, predation, and natural disasters threaten coral reefs. With professor Craig Nelson, he will be studying coral reefs of Mo‘orea, French Polynesia, specifically, how human activity, such as agriculture, wastewater management and other activities, on land affects coral reefs, their microbiomes, and the nutrients in marine ecosystems.

Ian Van Wynn

Ian Wynn is an Earth sciences doctoral student focusing on geophysics and seismology. His current interests include seismic and geophysical imaging techniques of volcanoes at subduction zones. Advised by Earth sciences assistant professor Helen Janiszewski, Wynn’s research aims to develop novel seismic receiver function techniques to identify magma storage at Alaska-Aleutian volcanoes. He is also concluding a Graduate Degree Fellowship at the East-West Center, where he plans to continue active involvement in initiatives pertinent to the Asia-Pacific region.