This year, the National College Sea Grant Program is celebrating it’s 50th anniversary, and during the month of April we, along with the 32 other programs, are reaching out to our former (and current) Knauss Fellows to find out how their experience has shaped their career and impacted their lives.

So what better way to start then by chatting with our first-ever fellow, Molecular Ecologist and Fish Conservation Geneticist (and University of Illinois alumnus!) John Epifanio.

 

What do you remember most about your fellowship time?

While the fellowship really helped me in my career by affording me a more realistic view of how policy is developed, there are a few less formal aspects of my fellowship year that remain most memorable.  First, I was genuinely fortunate to work for U.S. Senator John H. Glenn on Great Lakes issues.  To work for an American hero in itself is pretty neat.  He was in every way, the “real deal.” More importantly, the experience taught me a great deal about how public stature and personal capital can be used on behalf of a pretty worthy causein this case, the Great Lakes ecosystem.  Second, I met my future spouse through the Knauss Fellowship program (she and I were both part of the class of ’90).  I like to think that in this regard, the fellowship keeps on paying dividends. Last, I developed a handful of long-standing friendships that have endured the years and distance.

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What was the most useful skill or knowledge that you got from the experience?

I think the most useful skill I received from the fellowship was to focus the way I write and communicate complex issues.  As scientists we are often trained to exhaustively cover a topic an inch wide and mile deep.  In working with policy, this level of coverage is a luxury that demands distilling an entire body of literature into a single bullet point on a memo (Oh, and by the way, the boss wants it yesterday!).

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How has it played a role in your career or your life?

In many ways, the fellowship is a bit of an exclusive club.  I mean this not in a snooty way that results from some greater virtue or qualification on my part, but rather in a way that having been part of the fellowship program carries a bit of cache.  When I meet others who have been in the program, there is an immediate bond and acknowledgement that we were really part of something speciala unique opportunity and sideline pass for the total “D.C. experience.”

 

 

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📢 Show Your Support for Sea Grant! 📢Continued federal funding for Sea Grant in FY26 is crucial, and we need your help to demonstrate the nationwide support for these essential programs.🖊️ Sign the letter urging Congress to continue funding Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and all 34 state Sea Grant programs:🔗 https://forms.gle/7sPGHGyh8j8a7vfGA or link in bio
Exciting news! The call for sessions for the 2026 Emerging Contaminants in the Environment Conference has been extended! We are excited to offer the opportunity to propose a speaker or panel session during the 2026 Emerging Contaminants in the Environment Conference April 28-29.  The conference will feature traditional 15-minute presentations and a poster session on the latest in emerging contaminant research, policies, and outreach in the soil, water, and air.The deadline to propose a session is September 30, 2025.Learn more at go.illinois.edu/ecec or the link in bio
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Four science educators from Illinois and Indiana have been selected for the 2025 Shipboard Science Immersion on Lake Michigan July 7-13. The educators will spend a full week alongside researchers aboard the EPA research vessel Lake Guardian. Afterwards, they will bring Great Lakes science back to their classroom. Learn more and meet the four incredible teachers representing Illinois and Indiana at the link in bio.
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