I was surprised to have received the award. This isn't a scientific essay, but you are required to be in marine science cirriculum. Writing the essay required me to take stock of what I've done while at UCSB and therefore, made it fun to write. When I received the details on entering the competition for this award, I was also handed the journal Nejat had kept. In reading it, I came to feel a connection with him. Both of us had started scuba diving by taking the research diving class at UCSB. As I read his journal, I could tell that he too, was interested in EVERYTHING. He wasn't a negative person, and appeared to love his work. He has also been something of a role model for entering into a field that doesn't have a high end salary as a goal or requirement. I happened to meet the Ezal family at a friend's graduation this year at UCSB. I had already been informed of receiving the award, and knowing this when meeting them made it all the more tangible.

I plan to save the award dollars, or if necessary use it towards any financial downfall I may have upon graduating. I used a portion of it to pay an undergraduate student to help me with my research. I encourage others to try out for award even if they're hesitant. It's an opportunity to reflect on oneself.

My research deals with the spatial distribution of bioluminescent organisms. I use instruments that are in development. I profile the water column using an automated system attached to a mooring and other platforms. My hope for the future is to sample red tides in real time.

Also studying "thin layers"- these are water column structures that are very concentrated at times in layers that are vertically meters to centimeters in thickness. They can extend for miles in the horizonal. Previously instruments sampled too fast to detect these structures, and with new technology we can minimize artifacts of sampling. The importance of these "thin layers" lies in the fact that they redefine our ideas of interactions between organisms. Some organisms may be confined to the layers and may encounter much higher numbers of predators or prey than we thought possible from older data! Other organisms may actively avoid these layers, and thus escape predation much more efficiently than we thought possible.