Congratulations to our staff who received their years of service awards at ourannual award and holiday event December 6th. While the Yankee swap wasagain a huge hit, I want to thank Theresa, Amir, Allison and Nina fororganizing such a fun preceding game with the crab hunt. Those crabs werecertainly hidden very well across campus and yet that was an impressivenumber of finds by the winners!As we move into 2025, CBL will be celebrating it’s 100th year! It is thanks tothe vision of our founder Dr. Reginald Truitt, that we have a legacy ofgroundbreaking research, that has helped shaped policies to improve thehealth of the Chesapeake bay, the sustainability of our fisheries but mostimportantly it has been a place for collaboration and community. CBL hasbrought together scientists, educators, policymakers, and the public to engagein the shared responsibility of protecting our natural resources. We aregrateful to our many sponsors and donors who support our students andmany of our research programs, including Dolphin Watch. This year, thanks toour generous donors, Brian Hochheimer and Marjorie Was, CBL’s firstendowed professorship has been established. The Thomas Miller EndowedProfessorship will help CBL to recruit our next generation of emerging leadersin the environmental science.I would like to take this opportunity to thank the entire CBL community for allof your hard work this past year. UMCES and CBL is in a time of transition,we welcomed our 7th UMCES President this past summer and look forward tonew laboratory Directors in 2025 at both CBL and IMET. So as this year draws to an end, I wish you all a wonderful time enjoying timeaway from work with family and friends. As announced by UMCES PresidentFernando Miralles-Wilhelm, enjoy the additional days of holiday this year andsee you back in 2025 and the start of our centennial celebrations. CHESAPEAKE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY I SOLOMONS, MDISSUE 100Lab Lines DECEMBER 20241Directors ViewIN THIS ISSUEDirectors View1In Case YouMissed It2Publications &Awards3DEIC4In the News5Safety Corner6
In Case You Missed It2Lora Harris and collaborators from the ASPiRE project (Active SocietalParticipation In Research and Education) attended the 2024 AmericanGeophysical Union meeting from December 9th to 13th. In addition toengaging in sessions related to their individual research, the ASPiREteam also aimed to promote future opportunities for geoscientistsinterested in working with equitable exchange with communities. Theproject has specific engaging opportunities for early career scientists(specifically, PhD students, postdoctoral scholars, and assistantprofessors), and geoscience leaders with capacity to enact policychanges (e.g., deans). To learn more and signup to be part of this effort,visit the ASPiRE website (https://equitableexchange.org/)Community members participating in ASPiRE project.ASPiRE team members having lunch during 2024 AGU meeting.Photo Credit: Alfonso TapiaPhoto Credit: Alfonso TapiaLee Cooper, Jackie Grebmeier, Sadia Ali, Christina Goethel,Nick Silverson, and Brian Marx were among the CBLscientists making presentations at the American GeophysicalUnion Annual Meeting in Washington DC in December, whichhas a registered attendance of more than 30,000 scientists.Sadia had the opportunity to explain her poster on oxygen andhydrogen isotope variation in Maryland streams to a group ofmiddle school students from Charles County. Photo Credit: Jackie GrebmeierThis fall Lael Collins was awarded the Black in MarineScience (BIMS) Tidal Wave fellowship. BIMS is a non-profit organization focused on celebratingunderrepresented demographics in marine science,spreading environmental awareness, and inspiring thenext generation of scientific leaders. As a fellow, Laeltraveled to San Diego, California early in December totalk about her research and network with a communityof other marine system researchers. Photo Credit: Kaitlynn Wade
Recent Publications & Awards 3Weber, M.A., Wainger, L.A., Testa, J.M., Waldbusser, G.G., Li, M., 2024. Climate resilience and profitabilitythresholds in Chesapeake Bay oyster aquaculture. Journal of Environmental Management 372, 123202.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123202Renegar D-E A, National Coral Reef Institute (NCRI) at Nova Southeastern University (NSU); Mitchelmore CL,University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES); and Hankins, C U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency (USEPA). Advances in Ecotoxicology of Scleractinian Corals and other Coral ReefOrganisms. SETAC Globe, 12 Dec 2024.Reed A, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Opeolu B, BEE Solutions and Consultancy Services; Leopold A,Calidris Environment BV; Mitchelmore CL, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science; Suter G;Johnson M; and Rattner BA, U.S. Geological Survey. Using SETAC’s Successes as a Bridge to the Future.SETAC GLOBE, 12 Dec 2024.The Southern Association of Marine Laboratories has awarded Matt Stefanak a travel grant ($500) for travel tothe American Fisheries Society: Tidewater conference this coming March in Beaufort, NC. My talk will be somevariation on the title "Estuarine-marine connectivity dynamics of juvenile fish within the Chesapeake Bay coastalplume region".Mid-Atlantic MBON: Dynamic Biodiversity and Telemetry Data for a Changing Coast. M. Ogburn (PI, SERC), D.Secor, H. Bailey, A. Carlisle (UDE), K. Knee (RPS), C. Meyer (SERC), H. Roarty (Rutgers), P. Theilen (JHU).2024-2028. $363,000 (UMCES portion). This project supports a Mid-Atlantic Bight shelf array of acoustic assetsto listen for cetaceans and migrating fishes in support of integrated soundscape, oceanographic, andbiodiversity measures https://marinebon.org/us-mbon/mid-atlantic-mbon/NOAA : Wave of Plastic Jr.: Student-Driven Inquiry and Action to Prevent Marine Debris and its Impacts - 5thgrade expansion. Carys Mitchelmore. 2025-2026. $59,924. PublicationsAwards
CBL Community,Wednesday, December 25th marks the commencement of both Hanukkah and Christmas. Thefollowing day, December 26th, is the beginning of Kwanzaa.Christmas is a religious holiday celebrated by a majority of Christians that celebrates the birth ofJesus of Nazareth. Christmas will be celebrated on December 25 th for much of the western world andon or near January 7th for Orthodox Christians. Christmas is also a cultural holiday that incorporatescustoms and traditions with pre-Christian, Christian, and secular themes with origins from around theworld. Christmas celebrations typically involve exchanging gifts, sharing meals with family andfriends, and decorating homes and Christmas trees. Check out Southern Maryland's Holly Jolly LightTrail to sample the region’s best holiday light shows!Hanukkah (Chanukah), the Jewish festival of lights, commemorates the reclaiming and rededicationof the Second Temple in Jerusalem in the beginning of the second century BCE. This year, Hanukkahwill be celebrated December 25th - January 2nd. Customary celebrations involve the lighting of anine-branched candelabra, known as a menorah. Each night, an additional candle is lit, symbolizingthe miracle of a 1-day supply of oil in the Temple lasting 8 days. Traditional festivities include recitingspecial prayers, eating fried foods, playing games, and exchanging gifts. Although Hanukkah holds arelatively minor status in Judaism, it has gained prominence in North America. To learn more aboutthe history of Hanukkah and its celebration check out this article. There are many celebrations andservices being held around the state this winter. Kwanzaa is a secular holiday established in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga to honor African heritageand foster a sense of community among African Americans. It begins on December 26th and iscelebrated over seven days with each day dedicated to one of seven principles, known as NguzoSaba: Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility),Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith). Reflectionon these principles fosters a sense of identity and collective responsibility. To learn more, visit thisinteractive webpage or attend any of the several events being held at the National Museum of AfricanAmerican History & Culture during the month of December. As we enter our winter break, we wish everyone in our community a warm, safe, and enjoyableholiday season and happy New Year! Sincerely, The CBL Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEIC) The CBL DEIC is committed to listening, learning, and centering our community. Though we do our best to research allissues and content, we may not get everything right. If there is something that is misrepresented or incorrect, please letus know. DEIC4
Vyacheslav Lyubchich gave a talk on"Quantifying linked rare events in fish andenvironmental Chesapeake Bay timeseries" at the meeting of The InternationalEnvironmetrics Society (TIES) held inAdelaide, Australia on 2-5 December.This is an ongoing project with G.Nesslage of CBL, with contributors fromMD DNR, VIMS, and 2024 SeaGrant REUstudent Vivek Veluvali.In the NewsHave any noteworthy news to share with thepublic? Don’t forget to share it with the UMCEScommunication team!CLICK HERE5Slow zone in place for right whales offOcean City coast (Coast TV/DelmarvaNow) December 2Boaters off the Ocean City coast arebeing asked to slow down after rightwhales were spotted in the area onFriday, Nov. 27… The Ocean Citybuoy operated by the Woods HoleOceanographic Institution andUniversity of Maryland Center forEnvironmental Science detected thepresence of right whales east ofOcean City.Photo Credit : Amanda Flynn
William Eastman Spandow By volunteer Allison Bailey 20 November, 1922. “The funeral of William Eastman Spandow, who was killed by the explosion in Havemeyer Hall Friday, will be held in the Chapelat 11 o'clock this morning.” This was the introduction of the obituary given by the Columbia Spectator on the unusual death of the 24-year-old chemist.According to the newspaper, Columbia University was providing advanced programs in chemistry, physics, and engineering- but no safety standardshad been set. The newspaper describes common injuries such as “many eyes, fingers, and hands have been lost in such laboratories because theeducational institutions… have not yet become as thoroughly convinced… that it is possible to prevent almost every type of industrial accident by theinstallation of proper mechanical guards, by the revision of manufacturing processes and by safety education of the workers.” If accidents like thesewere common, why would safety standards be so low? William Eastman Spandow had been educated in Paris until 1914, when he returned to America to attend college at the University of Denver. Hepossessed “unusual attainments” and had both a B.A. and an M.A. in physics and chemistry, being also a graduate at Memphis. It is apparent that heloved experimenting and discovering ways in which chemicals work. Unfortunately, his love of learning would be cut short. On November 17, 1922 hewas in the lab busy experimenting in the manufacturing of diphenylamine- a colorless element used for the preparation of dyes and the detection ofoxidizing agents in analytical chemistry. Apparently the chemists were unaware that the chemical posed any danger. The concoction had produced agreat pressure and shattered the heavy steel autoclave it was placed in. The shattered steel was forcefully hurled in all directions, wounding otherchemists and killing Spandow instantly, who was standing directly in front of the pressure gauge. He was badly burned and cut with debris, but a largepiece of metal had crushed his head, killing him instantly. The explosion was powerful enough to shatter the windows. Spandow’s surviving co-experimenter later summarized that the accident occurred because Spandow had failed to turn off the gas heater if thepressure became too high. He recalled that other students performed the same experiment and had been successful. Before he left the premises, theirprofessor read the gauge at 112 and warned them about the heat and pressure. Just before the accident, the pressure rose to 250 lbs. per square inch,and it was concluded that the not yet extinguished gas had spread into the container and caused the explosion. Spandow is buried in Elmwood Cemetery in the Miller section. His inscription reads “Killed in chemical laboratory of Columbia University by anexplosion due to the carelessness of others.” It seems that whoever wrote the inscription also took issue with the college’s poor safety standards. http://www.elmwoodcemetery.org/blog/william-eastman-spandow/http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19221120-01.2.9Drug and Chemical Markets, volume 11 Laboratory Explosion Kills Student An accidental explosion in a laboratory used by graduate students at Columbia University, on Nov. 17, caused the death of William EastmanSpandow, a graduate student, of Memphis, Tenn., and the serious injury o Reginald Gordon Sloane, a Harvard graduate and son of Mr. and Mrs.Charles William Sloane. The students were experimenting in the manufacture of intermediate compounds for aniline dyes. The lives of at least seven other graduate studentsin the laboratory were imperiled by flying steel missiles which were hurled in all directions as a highly explosive compound shattered the lid of its steelcontainer. The detonation was heard several hundred feet away. The general opinion among the investigators for the university and the city was that Spandow, who was in charge of the apparatus for the day, in partat least had disregarded instructions given to him by the professors who direct the work in chemical engineering. He opened a valve on the side of theheavy steel apparatus before a gas flame had died out of the gas heater underneath, and a tongue of flame darted in to the chamber and ignited theimprisoned gases.https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8952357/william-eastman-spandowWWW.UMCES.edu/cbl I 410-326-4281P.O. Box 38 I 146 Williams Street I Solomons, MD 20688-0038Safety Corner: Cheryl Clark6Although the headstone inscription indicates hewas killed by the carelessness of others it appearsthat he was partially to blame for his death and theinjuries incurred by others in the explosion.