Science and Research

Science and Research

Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.” - Carl Sagan

Featured Fellowship: NOAA Hollings Scholarship

Over his long career in state and federal politics, Senator Ernest “Fritz” Hollings of South Carolina was a champion for ocean policy and conservation. When Senator Hollings retired in 2005, the Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship was established in his honor to bolster undergraduate training in NOAA mission sciences, as well as increase environmental literacy.Senator Hollings served in the U.S. Senate for 38 years, from 1966 to 2005. He began his political career representing Charleston in the South Carolina House of Representatives (1949-1954); he was elected Lieutenant Governor for the state for one term, and at the age of 36, was elected Governor of South Carolina in 1958. He was then elected to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate in 1966. Emphasizing "practical conservationism," Senator Hollings spearheaded an extraordinary range of laws to safeguard America's coasts and oceans, including many of the seminal environmental laws of the 1970s. In 1970, Senator Hollings played a major role in the establishment of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

In 2019, FGCU launched The Water School which uses a holistic approach that focuses on the environmental sciences but also draws in the social sciences, health sciences, business and engineering. The OCF seeks aspiring scientists and researcher for numerous scholarships and fellowships to advance the mission of Senator Hollings but also scientific research and advancement. 

Meet NOAA Hollings Scholarship recipient Mark Leone