Posted on Nov 07, 2007

California Sea Grant has named Jasmine Ruvalcaba a 2007 John D. Isaacs Marine Undergraduate Scholar.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration funds the Isaacs Undergraduate Research Scholars Program; California Sea Grant selects six undergraduates who each receive $2,500 to work with a CSG researcher.

Jasmine will work with Dr. Michael Graham at Moss Landing Marine Labs, studying seaweed aquaculture.

The Isaacs Program was created in 2006 in memory of John Isaacs, a professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and an early advocate of helping undergraduates further their interest and participation in marine science. She spent her summer collecting species of red algae, feeding young abalone, and monitoring kelp greenlings.

She is a certified research diver and has worked for the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, the Monterey Abalone Company, and graduate research students from UC Santa Cruz and Moss Landing Marine Laboratory, part of the California State University system. Her goal is to continue developing research diving skills at the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO).

Jasmine attended South Hills High School in West Covina and is the daughter of Joyce Ruvalcaba and Norm Reynolds. She is scheduled to graduate from California State University, Monterey Bay in December and plans to attend graduate school.