CLIMATE CHANGE: Anyone Can Change Everything Dr. Joe MacInnis Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society® 42nd Annual Awards Program New York Yacht Club April 16, 2016 IT’S AN HONOUR to be in your company. Each one of you from Rolex Scholar to intern, from supporter to sponsor, confirm what can be done when good people do small things with great love. A month ago, Jim Corry and Lionel Schürch of Rolex SA in Geneva asked me to talk to you for ten minutes about climate change. My heart sank. How do you describe the planet’s most pressing environmental problem—a biological crime scene—and our response
Founded in 1975, OWUSS has sponsored 94 experience-based Rolex scholarships and 93 internships to young people who want to pursue careers in fields such as marine biology, underwater research, and conservation. The society offers summer internships in North America for 1-3 month periods to college undergraduates and recent graduates. Internship recipients receive an educational grant to help fund travel to/from internship site, room and board, and a stipend to cover living expenses. The sponsor organizations that host the internships are leaders in their fields. George Wozencraft, Vice President Internships, says “This year’s selection process was competitive, with many qualified applicants.
“Too Much of a Good Thing…Is Wonderful” by Dr. Joe MacInnis at the Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society® 41st Annual Awards Program on April 18, 2015 Forty-three years ago, on a ship under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the concept for our Rolex scholarship was born. We had a new and untested idea. We had a new and untested team. As time passed, especially during the early years, we overcame setbacks and failures. Today, we have 89 interns and 91 scholars. And a splendid team of volunteers, supporters, partners, and sponsors. We’re successful because our chairman, president and team
Woodridge, Ill. (May 20, 2014) – For four decades, unlocking the mysteries of the oceans – by providing experience-based scholarships – has been the central mission of the Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society®. Since 1974, founding partner Rolex Watch U.S.A. has been the Society’s partner in education, with the Society annually selecting three Rolex Scholars – one each from North America, Europe and Australasia – to receive financial and logistical support to further their understanding of the career possibilities relating to researching the depths of the sea. Each young scholar, working closely with leaders in the marine-related fields, spends a year
Region: North America Scholar Date: 2000 to 2001 Alison LaBonte is a currently a Project Supervisor in California’s energy sector. During her scholarship year, Alison explored the physical and engineering side of oceanography, which inspired her future studies to obtain a PhD from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She has spent more than seven years in the federal government leading technology innovation in renewables, developing a roadmap, and launching aggressive initiatives to accelerate a nascent sector. Having helped the wave energy sector make significant technical advancements toward becoming cost competitive, she now seeks to assist California in realizing the grid of
