Duke University Marine Lab

06/30/2026

Highlighting some of the work of Nicholas School and Duke Marine Lab researchers studying ocean solutions critical to long-term ecological health and community stewardship.

https://today.duke.edu/2026/06/oceans-touch-every-part-our-lives-heres-how-duke-research-safeguarding-it

06/17/2026

Joel Fodrie will join the lab from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he has served as director of the Institute of Marine Sciences.

06/11/2026

Summer at the Duke Marine Lab is filled with hands-on learning, research and community engagement. Students in the Bonaventura Summer Research Fellows Program, dukeengage Conservation with Communities in Rural, Coastal North Carolina and summer courses are now in Beaufort.

Across programs, students are participating in experiential learning aboard the R/V Shearwater and engaging with the North Carolina coast through fieldwork, research and community partnerships.

DukeEngage participants and the DUML Community Science team are working with the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center to offer hands-on environmental education at Cape Lookout National Seashore.

Bonaventura Fellows recently presented their research methods, laying the foundation for the faculty-mentored independent research projects they will present at the end of the program.

05/28/2026

Now growing in the Marine Lab community garden: plenty for both pollinators and the people of DUML alike to enjoy.

The garden, led by Ph.D. student Emma Johnson and many dedicated DUML community volunteers, is open to anyone willing to help water, w**d and take home produce.

05/22/2026

DUML recently hosted around 60 middle school students from Carteret County and surrounding communities for Growing Exploration in Science and Technology (GEST), a free, one-day STEM outreach event organized by graduate students and partners across eastern North Carolina.

In the lab and in the field, GEST participants rotated through hands-on sessions that brought science concepts to life.

Ph.D. student Brittney Mitchell reflected, "We’re not just teaching science. We are reimagining it as something inclusive, accessible and truly within reach. When art, science and imagination come together, they make space for curiosity and provide a tangible sense of what science is. Students can step confidently into those experiences and spaces that weren’t always built for them. It's incredibly powerful. And just as powerful is the way it brings people together—students, volunteers and scientists all in the same space, learning from each other and building something bigger than any one of us alone.”

Shoutout to the GEST leadership, including Mitchell; Ph.D. students Abi Human and Henry Sun; DUML Community Engagement Fellow Mia Wang; DUML Undergraduate Program Coordinator Amanda Cole; Caitlin Bourner from the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries; and all the volunteers!

05/06/2026

The Nicholas School Student Council Beach Weekend returned to Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, and the Duke Marine Lab, bringing MEM students together to celebrate the end of another school year!

Students enjoyed an oyster roast, trivia, touch tanks, a beach volleyball tournament, a Kentucky Derby disco party and more.

04/21/2026

This spring, the Marine Lab offered a new travel course that took students to British Columbia, Canada, to explore social impact analysis and Indigenous resource management.

Second-year MEM student Natalie Holsclaw reflected:
"Our stay with the Tla-o-qui-aht in their Ha-Houlthee (traditional territories) was an incredible experience. We were able to see the dynamics of social structures in the context of environmental management and gain insight into the importance of considering social impacts in management decisions. Tla-o-qui-aht people have this concept called Hishuk'ish tsawalk, meaning everything is one and everything is interconnected. This was something that stuck with me throughout the trip, and I hope to take forward in my future endeavors."

04/13/2026

Congratulations to the four recipients of the Mike Orbach Coastal and Marine Systems (CAMS) Enrichment Award this academic year. Through this funding, second-year MEM students Kayla Emerson, Cole Roxbury and Sameer Swarup, and first-year MEM student Sofia Velazquez each pursued experiential learning opportunities in the U.S. and abroad.

Emerson attended the 2025 Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation Conference in Richmond, Virginia, which helped inform her research on modeling the effects of sea level rise on salt marshes.

Roxbury traveled to Cape Town, South Africa, with representatives from DePaul University, PointB Guesthouse, INSTED and BLKHLTH to support community-based development initiatives.

Swarup attended the Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial North America (FOSS4GNA) Open Geospatial Technology Conference in Northern Virginia, where he gained insight into the landscape of federal agencies and contractors developing open-source geospatial tools for environmental work.

Velazquez traveled to Glasgow, Scotland, to attend the Ocean Sciences Meeting, where she broadened her perspective on ocean conservation.

The Mike Orbach CAMS Enrichment Fund is a donor-supported program that assists Nicholas School MEM students pursuing the CAMS concentration in taking advantage of extraordinary academic, career or skill-enhancement opportunities and offsetting a portion of the costs.

04/10/2026

03/13/2026

A semester at the Duke Marine Lab helped shape Kirsten Moy's career in marine conservation.

Moy, a 2011 graduate of the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences at Duke, followed her passion for science and the sea as an undergraduate. A transformative semester at the Marine Lab and a sea turtle conservation course in Trinidad and Tobago helped clarify her career path.

After graduating, Moy served with the National Park Service in St. Croix before joining the Peace Corps in Panama. She eventually made her way to Hawaii, where she became the state’s first marine debris coordinator and has spent nearly a decade working on coral reef restoration, coastal resilience and marine resource management.

Now based in Seattle, Moy continues her work as a project manager for the Hawaii Coral Reef Initiative and the state's Division of Aquatic Resources.

Learn more about Kirsten’s work in marine conservation and her Duke experience: https://sites.nicholas.duke.edu/odar/alumni-qa-interview-with-marine-conservationist-and-nicholas-school-alumna-kirsten-moy/