Doherty Charitable Foundation Supports New Postdoctoral Program for the Bowdoin Scientific Field Station at Kent Island

The program will bring early-career climate change scientists to the island to conduct research and mentor undergraduates.

This grant builds on a series of previous gifts from the Foundation that have been instrumental to the development of the College’s marine sciences and coastal studies program.

自1935年以来, Bowdoin has maintained an active scientific field station on Kent Island, with scientists and students undertaking research on a range of topics from songbirds to fisheries. More than 250 articles based on island research have been published in this time.

The history and location of this small patch of land in the Bay of Fundy make it an ideal spot for both climate change studies and scientific collaboration. 近九十年来, researchers have collected enormous amounts of data on local weather and on the migrating birds—storm petrels, 树燕子, 还有每年都会回来筑巢的大草原麻雀. 如此长期和全面的数据集是罕见的, and so can provide a vital tool for scientists studying the effects of climate change.

每年夏天, the community of scholars on Kent Island grows to about twenty-five people, including eight Bowdoin students who pursue independent projects. The close-knit quarters of the island mean that undergraduates pursue research alongside faculty and graduate students from other US and Canadian colleges and universities.

Under the current leadership of Assistant Professor of Biology 帕蒂·琼斯, Kent Island’s field station will not only continue its long-term research, 同时也介绍了传粉者群体的新研究, 森林再生, 以及海洋潮间带无脊椎动物和藻类.

Recognizing the potential of Kent Island for studying our changing environment, the Henry L. 和格蕾丝·多尔蒂慈善基金会 has awarded the College a $1 million challenge grant to endow a new postdoctoral scholar program that advances the unique research opportunities on Kent Island. Bowdoin will raise another $1 million to match this contribution as part of its comprehensive campaign.

“We saw the work at Kent Island as important to understanding climate change and the impact it has on the marine environment,基金会主任兼秘书詹姆斯·R. 布林斯力小. 84年说.

“The Foundation is excited to support this program and the opportunities it will provide emerging scholars and scientists starting out in the field as well as the collaborations it will foster in the broader research community.”

The Doherty Kent Island Postdoctoral Scholar will be responsible for teaching, 指导本科生研究, and collaborating with other field stations and institutions engaged in similar work. The postdoc will also have the opportunity to run their own independent research program.

一所小型文理学院, having a new postdoctoral scholar join the faculty – in this case on a two-year rotating basis – can broaden the choice of classes for students and introduce them to scholars immersed in the latest research and lab techniques. “They can create a lot of new diversity for our department in terms of ideas and the ability to mentor students in different fields,” said Assistant Professor and Kent Island Director 帕蒂·琼斯.

The Doherty Charitable Foundation has been a longtime partner of the College. 该基金会的重点是支持海洋科学, 特别是涉及缅因湾的项目. 多年来, its support has been critical to the trajectory of Bowdoin’s growing marine science and coastal studies program.

Among the Foundation’s earliest awards to the College was a 1984 grant that established the 詹姆斯·R. and Helen Lee Billingsley Professorship in Marine Biology, 该职位目前由艾米·约翰逊教授担任. In 1996, it created the Doherty Coastal Studies Research Fellowship. 自从第一批奖学金颁发以来, more than 100 Bowdoin students have engaged in research at the 席勒海岸研究中心 多尔蒂研究员. The Foundation also established the Doherty Marine Biology Scholar program in 2004, which brings talented postdoctoral scholars to the 席勒海岸研究中心 to teach classes as part of the Bowdoin Marine Science Semester and conduct their own research.

“We are thrilled to continue to partner with the Doherty Foundation as we further strengthen our marine and coastal studies programs with this new opportunity to focus on climate change,麦科马克院长说.

For more information on making a matching contribution to the Doherty Kent Island Postdoctoral Scholar program, contact Liz Armstrong in Development and 校友 Relations at larmstr@dominatedgirls.net.