Name and Institution:

Alicia K. Williams
Postdoctoral Researcher
Phytoplankton Dynamics Laboratory
Texas A&M University Galveston Campus

Academic Background:
Ph.D. Oceanography, Texas A&M University
B.S. Biology, Roger Williams University

Current Areas of Interest:

• Active microbial functions targeted by fluorescent in situ hybridization combined with flow cytometry
• Phytoplankton aggregation in response to oil and dispersants
• Biophysicochemical interactive co-limitation of microbial plankton abundance and functions
• Trait-based microbial ecology

Why did you sign up for the CSW?

I applied to participate in the UNOLS Chief Scientist Training Workshop because I plan to pursue an academic career path during which I will develop a multi-disciplinary research program that will continue to require research at sea. While I have had several opportunities to participate in research cruises previously, I have not been a Chief Scientist. Thus, the training program will complement the skill set I have already developed by enabling me to learn how to be a productive and efficient leader during research cruises. Because oceanography is a very collaborative field, having participated in the training program will provide an additional level of trust among my colleagues when entering into future collaborations built around research cruises. While at sea I plan to collaborate on several projects by determining the abundance of microbes actively conducting carbon and nitrogen fixation along a nearshore to offshore transect and also enumerating heterotrophic microbes across the upwelling region of Cherry Bank.