ECU faculty selected for prestigious recognition as women science leaders

Dr. Rebecca Asch, associate professor in the Department of Biology, and Dr. Cynthia A. Grace-McCaskey, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology and research associate at the Coastal Studies Institute, are two of 22 women science leaders selected as 2024 NSF-EPF Ocean Decade Champions.

Champions are awarded by the National Science Foundation in collaboration with the Every Page Foundation. Each champion is associated with a project funded by the NSF Coastlines and People program, which focuses on coastline and community research that integrates natural and social processes and creates new or adapts existing technologies to bolster coastal resilience.

“Interdisciplinary approaches allow for a comprehensive understanding of these interconnected systems. I am immensely proud that Drs. Asch and Grace-McCaskey are being recognized for their innovative work,” said Dr. Allison Danell, dean of Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences. “I am also appreciative of the longstanding partnership we enjoy with CSI that offers such a rich environment for collaborative research.”

Awardees receive a monetary award, ranging from $20,000 to $50,000, that supports leadership activities, networking opportunities, technical and communications training, and cross-disciplinary and intercultural scientific endeavors.

“It is exciting to see such an honor for our faculty,” said Dr. Reide Corbett, dean of Integrated Coastal Programs and executive director of the Coastal Studies Institute.

Asch is a fisheries oceanographer researching interactions between fish reproduction, fish early life history, plankton ecology, climate change and climate variability.

Grace-McCaskey is an applied environmental anthropologist with expertise in the human dimensions of marine and coastal resource management issues. She examines the ways social and natural systems interact with and influence one another and what that means for equitable resource management, adaptation and governance.

To learn more about all 2024 awardees, visit the NSF website.