Joe O'Reilly '18 Researches Atlantic Surf Clams in Casco Bay

"Portland, Maine, is a beautiful, small city...It's breathtaking," says Saint Joseph's College student Joe O'Reilly '18. Joe spent the summer before his senior year of college researching growth rates of Atlantic surf clams off of Peaks Island, which is a 20-minute ferry ride from Portland's mainland. Joe received funding for this internship through the Sustainable Ecological Aquaculture Network (SEANET), which is connecting interdisciplinary researchers along the coast of Maine to help advance sustainable farming of finfish, shellfish, and aquatic plants. Joe worked alongside aquaculture researcher Dr. Mark Green, a professor of sciences at Saint Joseph’s College. Joe wants to help bring more awareness of surf clams as a potential local food source for area restaurants, especially because they grew to market size within just one year. Joe enjoyed his summer experience so much that he extended his research into an independent senior project to measure how density affects their growth.
Are you interested in studying science at a college that has convenient access to the ocean, mountains, lakes, and rivers? Saint Joseph’s College has been awarded a five-year $647,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund the Saint Joseph’s College Science Scholars Program to encourage academically-talented students, who have demonstrated need of financial assistance, to enter into and succeed in a community of young scientists. The grant provides considerable scholarship aid, ranging from $5,000 to $7,200 per year, for each of the recipient’s four years in college. This aid is in addition to merit and other aid a student may receive. The first group of Saint Joseph’s College Science Scholars will be selected from first-year students entering in the fall of 2018 who are committed to pursuing a range of science fields, including: chemistry, biology, environmental science, biochemistry, and marine science. Learn more at www.sjcme.edu/science.

[@Tank044]

Wow! So interesting!