A Look back: the 2021 HIMB Schmidt Summer Course

As described in a recent UH News story, the 2021 Schmidt Summer Course at HIMB was an incredible opportunity for 8 graduate students from across Hawaii to dive into the ever-changing world of innovative technologies and apply them to their own research. After over a year of COVID-19 limitations and general isolation from others, the 8 of us spent three weeks (vaccinated and in the same room together!) exploring a diverse set of topics ranging from the identification and measurement of marine mammals through drone imagery to 3-dimensional modeling of coral colonies and ecosystem-wide analysis using satellite imagery. The skills and relationships that we built during our time at HIMB this summer will have a lasting impact on all of our future research projects and collaborations. You can learn more about all of our experiences and the course modules at our Youtube Channel where you will find each student's final video project.  

Thank you to all of our passionate instructors, Dr. Elizabeth Madin, Dr. Josh Madin, Dr. Lars Bejder, Dr. Samapriya Roy and their graduate students, postdocs, and technicians. Thanks to HIMB for hosting us in such a beautiful and inspiring environment and lastly, thank you to the Schmidt Ocean Institute for their generous funding and support. Without these people the 2021 HIMB Summer Course would not be able to happen!

If you’re interested in joining the program next year, check back in early 2022 for our call for applications!