A Ph.D. candidate at University of Chicago, Will spent the bulk of the last year helping NOAA’s Regional Collaboration Network coordinate the work of NOAA’s five main offices—Weather Service, Fisheries Service, Satellite and Information Service, Ocean Service, and Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. The efforts of these offices often overlap on major issues like climate change, habitat conservation, and emergency response. It was Will’s job, along with the other network members, to find opportunities for collaboration and help NOAA make progress on these issues. He also served as a liaison between NOAA regional staff and organization leaders, ensuring that each group had the information and resources they need to effectively meet program goals.
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Got a research idea worth a bigger room? The 2026 State of Lake Michigan Meeting is accepting proposals for symposia and workshops, and we want to hear yours!
📅 Nov. 4–6 | Michigan City, IN
⏰ Proposals due June 1 at 1 PM ET
Help shape what the Great Lakes research community discusses this year.
🔗 Submit at the link in bio.
To every educator who has brought the Great Lakes into their classroom, thank you. 🍎
Your curiosity is contagious. Your lessons last. And the students who learn to love these waters? They’ll protect them.
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week from all of us at IISG.
Trash talk + trivia + Great Lakes science at a brewery on Earth Day.
Science Sips: Trash Talk about Chicago Waterways brought together researchers, curious locals, and trivia bingo to talk about what’s really floating in Lake Michigan and what we can do about it.
Thank you to everyone who came out and to @sketchbookbrew for hosting!
Located in Washington, D.C., the Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship provides a unique educational and professional experience to graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources, and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. This is a one-year fellowship open to any student, regardless of citizenship, who is enrolled toward a degree in a graduate or professional program on the day of the deadline.
Students enrolled at an Illinois or Indiana university or college should submit their applications through Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant by emailing Angela Archer at amcbride@purdue.edu. Students in surrounding states without a Sea Grant program should contact the National Sea Grant College Program at oar.sg.fellows@noaa.gov for a referral.
Application deadline: June 3, 2026.
To learn more about the fellowship, visit the link in bio.

