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Alum works on climate change issues

Nick Sadrpour, who earned a master’s in Coastal and Watershed Science and Policy from CSUMB, has been named a California Sea Grant Fellow for 2015.

He and CSUMB alumnus Sean Windell are among 17 recent graduates to earn the honor.

The Sea Grant college program is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and provides graduate students or recent graduates the opportunity to obtain experience in planning and implementation of marine and coastal resource policies. Fellows are matched with a host agency and gain on-the-job experience during the 12-month paid fellowship.

Sadrpour is working with the California Ocean Protection Council in Sacramento, a part of the state Natural Resources Agency. His work revolves around climate change issues, particularly sea-level rise. “I manage several grants we have issued to coastal cities and counties with the intent that they include climate change in an updated local coastal program,” he said. He also works on a sea-level-rise planning database and with the West Coast Governors Alliance on Ocean Health. Sadrpour is drawn to places where he can dive and surf. From Westchester, a small town south of Los Angeles – “a mile from the ocean,” he says – he went to Loyola Marymount University and then came to CSUMB “to enhance my technical science skills, to bridge my understanding of the land-sea connection, and to gain exposure in the interface of science and policy,” he said. “The fact that Monterey has awesome surfing was a big plus.” At CSUMB, the 2014 graduate served as a teaching assistant for scientific diving courses and worked in Professor Doug Smith’s Watershed Geology Lab, where he measured water quality parameters and calculated the rate of flow in local creeks. “CSUMB is wonderful because it links the watershed aspect with ocean science,” he said.

He’s not sure what he’ll do after his fellowship ends. “I’m open to staying in an agency role or spending more time in the field,” he said. But he’s certain about one thing – he’s moving back to the coast.

“I’m absolutely getting more surfing and diving in.”