Through a unique partnership with Colby College, several Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences scientists regularly step outside the lab and into the classroom — bringing their ocean expertise to undergraduate students in central Maine.
These on-campus courses at Colby, which cover topics from science communication to seafood forensics, not only support the college’s new, Bigelow-led marine science minor but also spark interest in ocean research among students, and provide researchers with new perspectives and ideas.
The collaboration is a powerful cycle of mentorship, curiosity, and inspiration — one that benefits both institutions, and the future of ocean science.
Photo 1: Undergraduate students learn to do fieldwork during the Sea Change Semester, part of Colby College’s new marine science minor. Credit: Yoon Byun.
Photo 2: Colby College students participate in field trips and classroom lectures for “Evolutionary Cell Biology,” a 200-level class offered in Colby’s biology department and taught by Senior Research Scientist John Burns, about the principles of molecular biology and evolutionary diversity. Credit: John Burns.
Photo 3: Elias Porter, a Colby College senior, collects samples during Sea Change Semester, which he applied to after taking an on-campus class with a Bigelow Laboratory researcher. Credit: David Fields.
