Santhiska Pather

Santhiska Pather is MIT Sea Grant’s awardee for the 2013 Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship. She will serve as an EPA National Nutrient Criteria Program Fellow in the Office of Water at the US Environmental Protection Agency between February 1, 2013 through January 31, 2014.

Pather completed a Master of Science in Marine Science and Technology at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in September 2012. Her thesis examines nitrogen cycling processes in the rocky intertidal, with a particular emphasis on investigating the role of the California mussel Mytilus californianus in nitrogen cycling. Pather’s work has reveals an unexpected diversity of processes in this environment, indicating the presence of microbial metabolisms previously only encountered in other marine habitats. She lives in Fairhaven, MA with her boyfriend and enjoys the great outdoors, good food and needlework.

The Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship was established in 1979 to provide a unique educational experience to students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. The program matches highly qualified graduate students with “hosts” in the legislative and executive branch of government located in the Washington, D.C. area, for a one year paid fellowship.

Degree Program
Master of Science, Marine Science and Technology
Marine Biogeochemical Cycles and Environmental Change Program
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, School for Marines Sciences and Technology