Matthew Mensinger: George F. Dow Graduate Scholarship Award
The George F. Dow Graduate Scholarship recognizes a graduate student associated with the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station with outstanding academic and research performance.
Matthew Mensinger is the recipient of the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture’s George F. Dow Graduate Scholarship Award. He is pursuing a M.S. in wildlife ecology. His advisors are Joseph Zydlewski, assistant unit leader in the U.S. Geological Survey Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and professor of fisheries science, and Erik Blomberg, associate professor of wildlife population ecology, both of the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology.
Mensinger has demonstrated tremendous initiative and competence as a researcher during his time at UMaine. At the start of his program, he assumed leadership of a large-scale field experiment that assessed the risks of hydroelectric dam passage for migrating American eels. He excelled in developing the field and technical skills he needed to manage the project. He later revealed his creativity as a scientist when he designed a novel behavioral experiment that again required him to master an entirely new suite of skills.
Mensinger has presented his research at regional, national, and international conferences. He is an active member of the UMaine community, where he mentors fellow students and serves as a leader of the student subunit of the American Fisheries Society and on several committees for his program.
How do you envision your research might someday change the world? How will your experience at UMaine help you?
It is humbling to be recognized amongst all the great research being conducted throughout the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture. I am fortunate to work with one of the most incredible, bizarre, and charismatic fish species around, and I’m proud that my research will be used to promote eel conservation in Maine and around the world.
My time at UMaine has been foundational in my development as a citizen and scientist. I would like to thank my advisors, Joseph Zydlewski and Erik Blomberg, for their continued guidance over the last few years, as well as the many colleagues who have supported me along the way. I welcome my next challenge and look forward to using the skills and knowledge acquired during my graduate studies to promote fish conservation for years to come.