Leslie Smith

Biological Oceanography
vita

Leslie’s love of water began as she grew up in and around the Chesapeake Bay. She is passionate about the environment. In fact, if there is anything that defines Leslie, it is her passion for life. She plans to use her formal training as a scientist to prepare her as a translator between the worlds of science, policy, and society in an effort to facilitate change and create a greater public awareness.

Leslie went to Davidson College in North Carolina to pursue her baccalaureate. While at Davidson, she played varsity lacrosse serving as goalie in this Division 1 program, setting the school record for saves per game and serving as captain during her senior year. Leslie credits lacrosse with teaching her about how far commitment, persistence, and heart can take you.

In her first two years as an undergraduate, Leslie studied philosophy, delving into a world where no piece of knowledge was taken for granted, an experience which she credits with helping her to look critically at the world around her. In her junior year she switched majors to biology which she completed in just two years and graduated with honors. A week after graduation, Leslie moved to Rhode Island and started work in Dr. Candace Oviatt’s laboratory, researching hypoxic events and the effects of climate change in Narragansett Bay. Her work as an IGERT trainee is crucial to her future plans to effect change by bringing raw scientific research to the public, decision-makers and NGO’s in a way that is comprehensive and comprehensible. Specifically, Leslie hopes one day to take a leading role in a coastal NGO focusing on habitat restoration, water quality, and management in the context of the changing climate. She in the middle of her second year in the PhD program for Biological Oceanography and is continuing her research on hypoxic events.