Where Curiosity Meets Impact The Values Driving Rutgers Marine Sciences
At the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, curiosity drives research—but impact defines it.
Faculty, staff and technicians work not just to understand the ocean, but to make that knowledge meaningful for people and the planet. From predicting currents and monitoring water quality to studying how environmental changes affect ecosystems and communities, their work connects fundamental science with real-world outcomes.
Longtime DMCS Distinguished Professor Oscar Schofield underscored why that matters. “When scientists step out of the lab and engage with the public, we build trust, inspire future generations, and help communities understand the relevance of our work,” Schofield said.
Knowledge-sharing is central: tools and data are made available to scientists and the public, empowering informed decisions. Engagement with diverse stakeholders—from policymakers to local residents—ensures research addresses pressing societal and environmental challenges. Long-term stewardship and societal relevance guide the work. Researchers value transparency, rigor, and collaboration.
“Science is not merely a collection of breakthroughs; it’s a journey marked by trial, persistence, and discovery,” said Schofield, chair of DMCS.
What follows are profiles of DMCS researchers living out these values in their work.
Mapping Coastal Water Movement
Bob Chant is immersed in the science of fluid mechanics, studying how water moves and mixes in estuaries and coastal environments — and how those dynamics affect everything from safe drinking water to commercial shipping.
His research hits close to home. For cities like Philadelphia, knowing how saltwater moves upstream is of high importance because it impacts the drinking water used by its residents in times of drought. Further north, around the Passaic River in New Jersey, he is tracking moving sediment introduced by foreign and domestic commercial ships as they move up and down the NJ-NY ports. He has tracked sediment as old as the Vietnam war, identified by the byproducts of Agent Orange in them.
Chant does not leave his work there, however. His work informs policymakers on matters such as preventing salinization of freshwater for irrigation, industrial uses, and drinking water. “The underlying science has to be good to have good public policy,” he said.
The path from research to impact is often long and gradual, taking years or sometimes decades.
“Science has incredibly useful applications to society, but it happens on a long-time scale,” Chant said. “That’s why we need national funding for science; businesses can’t invest in things that don’t bring quick returns.”
What drives him is both scientific curiosity and a commitment to environmental stewardship: “I like to think I’m putting my shoulder to the wheel in a way that supports good decisions for our natural resources.”
Building the Ocean Science Toolbox
Over a 25-year career at Rutgers, Elias Hunter has traveled up and down the Jersey Shore, building and repairing the instruments DMCS uses to measure ocean currents; track temperature, nitrate, oxygen, and salt levels; and collect core samples that reveal what the ocean looked like thousands of years ago.
Hunter provides the technical know-how that helps researchers in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences capture critical data. Each chunk of data received is another part to unlocking the mysteries of the ocean.
“The ocean has inherent value, from people enjoying it for fishing and swimming to its global implications,” Hunter said. “We’re taking small steps to understand this huge, impactful thing that is integral to human existence.”
Hunter spends up to three months a year at sea as part of research teams and then helps process and analyze the collected data.
“It’s humbling when you appreciate how much effort goes into getting these results,” he said.
Hunter also has pursued research of his own; in 2006, he published a study showing that sea breezes affect the movement of river plumes in coastal waters more than previously understood.
“I add a small brick to the wall we call science; to be part of that motivates what I do here,” he said.
Turning Shark Science Into Conservation
As a child, Jake Kuenzli wanted to be what (almost) all kids wanted to be – a shark scientist. At DMCS, he is living his dream—working as a marine scientist studying sharks, rays, and skates. As a doctoral researcher, he explores how environmental shifts, like rising ocean temperatures, influence the migration patterns and distribution of these coastal elasmobranchs.
Kuenzli hopes his research will one day guide effective management strategies for conserving marine species whose survival depends on the health of entire ecosystems.
“Nothing happens in a vacuum—especially in the ocean,” he said. “You might think you’re only affecting one part, but because of interconnected systems like food webs, every impact ripples outward.”
That insight fuels Kuenzli’s commitment to making his science actionable. He collaborates with government agencies, nonprofits, and local communities—groups that often hold passionate, and sometimes opposing, views about marine conservation.
“If you want to do science and if you want your science to mean something and share it, you have to be able to talk to a variety of stakeholders,” Kuenzli said.
At DMCS, he has found a culture that values that kind of engagement. He has taken part in community science nights in New Brunswick, translating his research for kids through games. “It was a great exercise,” he said. “It’s something I want to do more of.”
Decoding Coral Resilience
One of Fiorella Prada‘s earliest memories is swimming with her father in the coral reef–rich Indian Ocean off Mozambique, where they lived, and declaring she would become a marine biologist. Half Italian and half Costa Rican, Prada went on to study coral reefs off both countries, and related shell-formers in New Jersey.
Her research is driven by a fascination with how these organisms respond to environmental changes such as temperature and acidity fluctuations. “They have survived five mass extinction events, and they’re still here!” Prada said. Coral reefs capture carbon and provide habitat “for thousands of species that ultimately affect the food we eat, so we are all connected to this system.”
At DMCS, Prada studies how corals and other marine organisms build their calcium carbonate skeletons or shells, and what environmental factors cause changes in density and porosity. “I’m like a rheumatologist for corals,” Prada said.
Her developing DMCS program includes research at Rutgers’ Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory and a new field site in Costa Rica’s Gulf of Papagayo, where healthy reefs attract tourists. Prada is investigating which factors help reefs thrive, and whether reducing local impacts can buffer them against global change.
She wants people to appreciate not only the resilience of corals, but also their essential role in the planet’s health. In Costa Rica, Prada will work with hotels and communities to demonstrate how healthy reefs sustain livelihoods, and she plans to launch a summer school to immerse graduate students in reef work, inspiring future stewards.
Turning Ocean Data Into Decisions
Nicole Waite wears two managerial research hats at DMCS. From her office in central New Jersey, she oversees the National Science Foundation–funded Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) project at Palmer Station in Antarctica. She also serves as a primary technician and manager for RUCOOL‘s glider cache. In both roles, her focus is on how oceanographic data is collected.
“I always wanted to do science that matters to people,” Waite said. “And people rely on the oceans more than they probably recognize.”
RUCOOL regularly deploys gliders off New Jersey’s coast, collecting data on temperature, chlorophyll, and other key measurements. The data informs a variety of stakeholders—from fishermen deciding when and where to harvest, to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection planning coastal management.
“We are better equipped by knowing because the things that go on in the ocean impact our fisheries, our beach quality, and our economy,” Waite said. For example, data on dissolved oxygen levels guide decisions about when not to eat locally harvested shellfish, and sea level monitoring informs property owners’ flood insurance choices.
Waite hopes her work bolsters trust in science. “We put the data and information out there. You don’t have to believe scientists. You can see the data and conclude for yourself,” she said.
Expanding Access to Ocean Forecasting
In the late 1990s, now Assistant Professor Javier Zavala-Garay was an oceanography student in Mexico studying the tides in the Gulf of Mexico. His interest in the patterns present in this body of water led him to create a simple tide-prediction model for the gulf. Fast forward and he is now in New Jersey building a high-tech digital “twin” of the ocean. With this model, satellite data and other real-time observations are used to accurately forecast ocean movement. His modeling skills have come a long way.
For him, this work is driven by his conviction that researchers everywhere — not just in wealthy nations — should have access to the tools to predict impactful shifts in ocean currents and tides.
“That’s my motivation for all of this,” Zavala-Garay said.
The Regional Ocean Modeling System and satellite data are publicly accessible, so once a scientist learns how it works, all they need is a laptop and an internet connection to predict ocean circulation in their region, Zavala-Garay said. Oceanographers from Vietnam, Tanzania and Mexico have come to DMCS for training.
“I love the capacity-building aspect of it,” he said. The knowledge can be used in managing things like oil spills, guiding rescue operations, and even determining best fishing locations, Zavala-Garay explained.
He and other U.S. oceanographers are working with their counterparts in India on monsoon prediction. Zavala-Garay also is investigating how changing sea levels and shifting tides will impact Vietnam’s coastal communities over the next 50 years.
“It’s a fascinating time for ocean modeling,” Zavala-Garay said.
Written by Margaret McHugh and Mitaali Taskar. Edited by Janice McDonnell. This article is part of Stories of our Science Impact, showcasing how Rutgers researchers advance their Broader Impacts mission by addressing real-world challenges through science.