Special Events

On Wednesday, February 6, Dean Bruce Corliss presided over the formal opening of Studio Blue, a multimedia coastal and ocean learning commons designed to exhibit creative works in a variety of media that are inspired by and imbue the research of marine and coastal scientists. The artists and their scientist counterparts were in attendance to discuss their works, both to the audience as a group, and individually after the formal program.  

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse was awarded the inaugural Admiral James D. Watkins Award by the Consortium for Ocean Leadership in a ceremony at the Bay Campus. The award was created in honor of the late Admiral to recognize outstanding contributions to ocean research and education.  

From February 20- 24 2012, over 4,000 people will attend the 2012 Ocean Sciences meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah. This biennial event is an important venue for international scientific exchange across broad marine science disciplines, including physical, biological, chemical and geological oceanography, as well as multidisciplinary topics. Presentations will include emerging research on the global ocean and society, including science education, outreach and public policy.

The Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island celebrated the recent retirement of one of its longest serving and most distinguished professors last week with a day-long symposium in his honor.

URI's Metcalf Institute administers The Grantham Prize for Excellence in Reporting on the Environment, the world's largest cash prize for environmental journalism. James Astill of The Economist will receive US$75,000 for “The World’s Lungs: Forests, and How to Save Them,” a commanding 8-part special report on the state of global forests and the rising threats they face from human exploitation and climate change.

GSO is celebrating 50 years of research, innovation and discovery in 2011. To commemorate its 50th anniversary, GSO will be holding a number of events open to the public on the weekend of June 25-26 at the URI Bay Campus in Narragansett.

The 2011 Ronald C. Baird Sea Grant Science Symposium, "Developing the Rhode Island Seafood Knowledge Economy: Perspectives on Seafood Sustainability," will take place June 26-28 in Providence. Scientists, seafood suppliers, and chefs will offer their perspectives on sourcing sustainable seafood, consumer preferences, and health topics, among others, and participants will get to prepare—and taste—sustainable seafood dishes under the guidance of expert chefs. 

The annual Grantham Prize Seminar on the State of Environmental Journalism featured presentations from the 2009 winners of the Grantham Prize, USA Today story investigating toxic air and America's schools, and the Award of Special Merit recipients.

Metcalf Institute for Marine & Environmental Reporting has announced that Canadian author Alanna Mitchell is the winner of the 2010 Grantham Prize for Excellence in Reporting on the Environment.

URI experts have been on the front line in addressing the crisis of the Gulf oil spill. Now they are coming together to tell us what happened, what we learned, and where we go from here. Join us for Seeing Clear: URI Perspectives on the Gulf Oil Spill, a special evening at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. For more information, please read the full press release.