Three awardees have been identified as recipients of the 2022 Vembu Subramanian Award and have been informed of their success. After accepting the evaluation of applications by its Review Panel, OCOVI informed and congratulated Zachary Briggs, Dishon Heyliger, and Andrew McGregor on their success. McGregor is a graduate student in the University of the Virgin Islands’ Master of Marine and Environmental Science program, and Heyliger and Briggs are undergraduates in the UVI Marine Biology program.

The award honors the memory of the late Vembu Subramanian, noted oceanographer and leader in ocean observing at the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association, which has described his life as, “… dedicated to uplifting others”. Funding for this Award is provided by NOAA’s program office for the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). It is distributed through the Caribbean Coastal Ocean Observing System (CARICOOS) to OCOVI to be made available in the US Virgin Islands. OCOVI gratefully acknowledges the support of the UVI Center for Marine and Environmental Science in the distribution of the awards. The work of each awardee is described below.

Andrew McGregor

Andrew McGregor is a student in the Master of Marine and Environmental Science Program (MMES) at the University of the Virgin Islands, who is passionate about tropical marine environments and their inhabitants, especially sea turtles. His current research focuses on using fine-scale positioning acoustic telemetry and environmental monitoring to determine patterns of territorial behaviors and habitat space-use in hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) in a small Caribbean Bay. Andrew is originally from Minnesota and received his BSc in biology from Iowa State University. Andrew has participated in research projects across the globe throughout his early scientific career, including places like the Gulf of Mexico, Fiji and now the US Virgin Islands. He is excited and fortunate to study hawksbill sea turtles using one of the world’s largest fine-scale positioning acoustic telemetry receiver arrays.

US IOOS is a principal partner in the US Animal Tracking Network (ATN), committed to gathering information on the behavior and movement of marine animals. As part of his VEMBU Award, Andrew will be working to make sure animal telemetry data collected in the USVI are included in the US IOOS ATN Data Center. The funds from this award will support Andrew’s research project and contributions to IOOS ATN, and the completion of his MMES degree at UVI. The funds from this award will support Andrew’s research project and contributions to IOOS ATN, and the completion of his MMES degree at UVI.

Dishon Heyliger

Dishon Heyliger is a native of St. Kitts and Nevis and a rising Junior at UVI, majoring in Marine Biology and minoring in Data Science. He has worked for the St. Kitts and Nevis Department of Marine Resources, gaining experience in data collection and management, hydrographic surveying, and coral reef surveys, and fisheries management. His career goals include development of marine monitoring systems in his country and within his region of the Caribbean. With an interest in marine technology, Dishon volunteered to help OCOVI with Glider operations in Spring of 2022. He was accepted into and completed a one-week Glider workshop at Rutgers University in August 2022 after being awarded a scholarship for tuition and lodging by the Marine Technology Society.

The Vembu Award provides transportation costs and a stipend for Dishon to attend the workshop. He will use the knowledge and experience gained at the workshop to continue to support OCOVI and UVI Glider and other ocean observing activities, as well as share his interests with other students.

Zachary Briggs

Zachary Briggs is an undergraduate majoring in Marine Biology at UVI. A native of Gulf Shores, AL, Zach enrolled at UVI following a tour in the US Army. His love of the ocean and interest in deep-sea exploration prompted him to volunteer to help OCOVI with Glider operations in Spring of 2022. He was accepted into and completed a one-week Glider workshop at Rutgers University in August 2022 after being awarded a scholarship for tuition and lodging by the Marine Technology Society.

The Vembu Award provides transportation costs and a stipend for Zach to attend the workshop. He will use the knowledge and experience gained at the workshop to continue to support OCOVI and UVI Glider and other ocean observing activities, as well as share his interests with other students.

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