$78,000 award provides support for research at Tiburon marine sciences center

SAN FRANCISCO, April 5, 2005 -- San Francisco State University graduate student Brittany Huntington was one of 124 students nationwide selected to receive a Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Fellowship from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Huntington, a graduate student based at SFSU's Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies, is researching the effects of macro algae on eelgrass in Tomales Bay, a prime spawning habitat for herring. The grant will cover Huntington's tuition, living expenses and supplies over two years. She will also have access to an EPA advisor and opportunities to attend conferences that might not be open to students.

"Not only does this financial support allow me to expand my research objectives and travel to study sites that were beyond my student budget, but the professional support of the Environmental Protection Agency bolsters my confidence about what I can achieve in this field," says Huntington, a native of Carmel Valley in San Diego.

"It is an honor to have a huge agency like the EPA interested in my success as a young scientist."

EPA STAR awards are given to students pursuing degrees in environmental studies, to help produce new government scientists, academic researchers and excellent science teachers in the areas of biology, toxicology, ecology, environmental sciences and other environmentally related work. This year the agency received 1,700 applications from students all over the United States.

The Romberg Tiburon Center is San Francisco State University's marine field station located 30 minutes north of San Francisco on the Tiburon Peninsula. It is the only academic research facility situated on San Francisco Bay.