Mae Rennick, a graduate student researcher in the Halley Froehlich Lab at UC Santa Barbara was selected to receive the 2022 Katherine S. McCarter Graduate Student Policy Award from the Ecological Society of America (ESA). She joined 43 other graduate students from across the country to participate in virtual Congressional visits that took place this month.

“Mae’s research is really applicable when it comes to the science and policy interface,” said Halley Froehlich, an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology at UCSB. “This award is so well deserved and offers a really great opportunity for her to learn and connect to national policy efforts.”

Offered each year, the award gives graduate students hands-on training and science policy experience, including interactions with congressional decision-makers, federal agency officials and ecologists who work in the science and public policy arena.

Rennick’s specialty lies in aquaculture, specifically sustainable seafood systems, and through her work in the Froehlich Lab, she is helping to develop a California state aquaculture action plan.

“There’s a lot of interest in how to make a sustainable seafood system utilizing aquaculture,” she said. “There’s also a lot of interest in federal funding and how to support research to create sustainable systems.” Her particular interest lies not only in how to make aquaculture ecologically sustainable, but also how we can sustain our seafood supply and make seafood accessible.

Rennick addressed Congress Feb. 16-17 in “Virtual Hill” visits organized by ESA.