Pursuing Bold, Nontraditional Research

Two FAU researchers recently received the Gulf Research Program’s Early-Career Research Fellowship awards.

Matt Ajemian, Ph.D., an assistant research professor at FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) and Aditya Nayak, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science with a joint-appointment in the department of ocean and mechanical engineering and HBOI, each received a two-year, $76,000 grant.

Participants who earn this award must exhibit leadership skills, team collaboration and willingness to explore untested theories. Nearly 88 participants have been awarded since 2015. Fellowship winners are encouraged to use the support toward transformative nontraditional research usually not conducted.

Both Ajemian and Nayak conduct research in ecosystems improvements and coastal communities dedicated to the health of oceans.

Ajemian joined FAU in 2016 after earning his doctorate degree in marine science at the University of South Alabama in 2011.

“Winning this award feels like a tremendous achievement, and represents a great platform to connect some of my research with other early-career researchers,” Ajemian said. “I look forward to using this fellowship to build new collaborations and test novel technology to study fish ecology in our fragile coastal environment.”

Nayak earned a doctorate degree from the Johns Hopkins University in Maryland before coming to FAU.

“I look forward to furthering my broad research goal of developing and deploying in situ imaging systems to characterize marine particles and plankton,” Nayak said. “One of the best parts of the fellowship is that the financial award comes with no strings attached. I could use it toward supporting students and test research ideas which would otherwise have not been possible.”