November 1, 2017, by Alex Ravelo

Join the Sitka Sound Science Center staff and Board in welcoming Dr. Kate Stafford as our next Scientist in Residency Fellow, here from November 2^nd to December 1^st, 2017. Dr. Stafford is a Principal Oceanographer at the Applied Physics Lab and affiliate Associate Professor in the School of Oceanography at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA.

Kate studied at the University of California Santa Cruz, where she double majored in French Literature and Biology. After college, her love for the French language took her to Paris as a Fulbright scholar, where she lived for a year studying Medieval French Literature. Kate continued with her passion for science at Oregon State University, where she earned a Master’s degree in Wildlife Science and a PhD in Oceanography. Her research focuses on using passive acoustic monitoring to examine migratory movements, geographic variation and physical drivers of marine mammals, particularly large whales. She is one of the founding members of the Scholarly Union for Bio-Physical Arctic Research and co-chair of the Southern Ocean Research Partnership Blue and Fin Whale Acoustics project. She has worked all over the world from the tropics to the poles, and is fortunate enough to have seen (and recorded) blue whales in every ocean in which they occur. Kate’s current research focuses on the changing acoustic environment of the Arctic and how changes, from sea ice declines to increasing industrial human use, may be influencing subarctic and Arctic marine mammals.

In concurrence with her Scientist In Residency Fellowship (SIRF), Kate is a keynote speaker for Sitka WhaleFest. Her presentation “Jazz Singers of the Arctic” will take place on Friday November 3^rd at 2:00 pm in Harrigan Centennial Hall. Sitkans can also learn about Kate’s research on Raven Radio’s Good Day Show on November 8 at 9:30 am. Kate will also host a behind the scenes event at the SSSC on November 15^th at 5:30 pm. In addition, she will be working with secondary classes to explore how marine scientists are using technology in innovative ways to understand ocean soundscapes. Join Kate for a community kayak outing with hydrophones to explore the “Sounds in the Sound”, weather dependent, this event will take place on an afternoon from the 20 to 23 of November.

The SIRF program, with support from the National Science Foundation, brings preeminent scientists from across the country to Sitka for month long sabbaticals, allowing for undisturbed research free from the interruptions of their daily routine. The program provides scientists the opportunity to engage our town in science, sharing their research and career pathways, while also benefiting from the important local knowledge of residents. For more information or to schedule a SIRF event please contact Alexandra Ravelo, SIRF Director, 907.747.8878 ext. 9

Find more information on Kate’s Sitka WhaleFest presentation here http://sitkawhalefest.org/