From left: Shea Cinquemani, Emory Barrett and Esha Nauman.

Three Rutgers undergraduates achieved first-author status in peer-reviewed journals, transforming their marine science class projects into published research before graduation.

The work grew out of a course taught by Richard Lutz, a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences within the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and a renowned oceanographer known for his research on hydrothermal vents. These sunless, deep-sea ecosystems, fueled by geochemical energy, offer insights into Earth’s origins and guide the search for extraterrestrial life.

In his “Hydrothermal Vents” course, Lutz assigns each student a scientific paper to expand into a comprehensive review. The exercise requires students to engage deeply with the research and think and write as scientists, synthesizing findings across the field.

“Normally, I spend four to five hours grading each paper, and there’s a lot of red ink,” said Lutz, who has taught the course for nearly three decades.

Most papers stop at the final grade – but three continued beyond the classroom.

Esha Nauman, a cell biology and neuroscience major with a minor in marine science, examined hydrothermal vents to better understand the biological limits of life and the increasing threats from deep-sea activity, including fracking. Her paper was published in Oceans in January 2026.

Nauman, who graduated in 2025 and is from Basking Ridge, New Jersey is now working as a medical scribe at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital while awaiting decisions on her medical school applications.

The publication process, Nauman said, changed how she approaches feedback and revision.

“Reviewers go line by line, and you have to justify everything,” she said. “Dr. Lutz guided me throughout the process and gave me direction, especially when I wasn’t sure where to go.”

Learning to accept criticism was part of that process.

“It taught me to be open-minded, especially when it comes to constructive criticism,” she said. “As a doctor, you’re going to get feedback from residents, attendings, even patients. It’s important to be receptive and not take it personally. It made me a stronger writer.”

Shea Cinquemani’s project pushed her into unfamiliar territory. Her paper, published in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering March 2026, examined how asteroid impacts on early Earth may have created “hydrothermal cradles” capable of supporting the emergence of life. 

The work drew on data from sites such as the Chicxulub crater, showing how impact-generated heat sustained freshwater vent systems that provided the chemicals and energy for early life. 

“My assignment was to investigate whether hydrothermal vents on Mars could have sparked life,” she said. “At first, I knew nothing about the topic and wasn’t certain how to even begin.”

She expanded the class assignment into a paper that went through months of peer review, extending beyond her graduation in May 2025, with the final version published the following year. The research was later published in the science section of Popular Mechanics.

Cinquemani, a native of Frenchtown, New Jersey, is working in aquaculture and continuing to build on her interests in marine science.

Emory Barrett, who will earn his bachelor’s degree in May from the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences in biological oceanography, explored the potential for life in extreme environments beyond Earth. His paper, published in October in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Science, focused on the possibility of chemoautotrophy on Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, examining how microbes might generate energy by oxidizing inorganic compounds in the absence of sunlight.

All three papers listed the students as lead authors, with Lutz as the corresponding author.

For Barrett, the experience offered a foundation for what comes next. Barrett, of Milford, New Jersey, is preparing to begin a doctoral degree program in oceanography at Rutgers, where he will conduct pilot studies this summer at the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory, a Rutgers field station in South Jersey. The laboratory focuses on the sustainable management and cultivation of shellfish, supporting coastal ecosystems and aquaculture development across the region.

Publishing as an undergraduate can shape the next phase of a career.

“It showed I could do this kind of work before even starting a Ph.D.,” Barrett said. “It’s an added layer of confidence, knowing I’ve already been through the process before.”

The publication process required persistence. In Cinquemani’s case, the work underwent extensive scrutiny before acceptance.

“It took about a year to get the paper into publishable shape,” Lutz said. “One of the reviewers was a leading expert in the field, and there were roughly 15 pages of comments across five rounds of review.”

Lutz, who has conducted more than 85 deep-sea dives and authored nearly 200 papers, said the experience reflects both the rigor of the course and the level of work the students were able to achieve.

At this stage in his career, Lutz said his focus is on mentoring the next generation of scientists.

“I’ve received many awards over the years, but none of that compares to seeing students succeed like this,” he said. “Toward the end of the course, one of the students gave me a leather-bound journal with a note that brought me to tears. On the cover, it said, ‘Great leaders inspire greatness in others.’ That means more to me than anything else.”

This article first appeared in Rutgers Today.

NJ youth participating in a previous Department of 4-H Youth Development workshop.

The Rutgers Department of 4-H Youth Development and the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve (JCNERR) have launched a multi-year initiative designed to engage New Jersey educators, students, and community partners in climate resilience planning and action.

The project is part of EduCATE (Education, Climate Awareness, Training, and Engagement), a program within New Jersey’s broader Building a Climate Ready NJ initiative. Through the project, educators, students in grades 6–12, and community partners from cities across the state will form Resiliency Action Teams to explore local climate challenges and develop community-based solutions.

Youth participants will build a shared understanding of climate risks using both scientific data and lived experiences. The initiative aims to empower youth to identify priorities in their communities and take an active role in advancing resilience strategies.

“With this project, we hope to build a statewide cohort that centers our NJ youth and is co-led by the students themselves, as well as educators and community leaders,” said Janice McDonnell, associate dean for research impact at Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station and a co-principal investigator on the grant.

NJ Youth had previously identified their concerns about climate resiliency in an earlier workshop.

The initiative supports EduCATE’s broader mission to expand climate resilience education, training, and community engagement across New Jersey while advancing the goals of Building a Climate Ready NJ.

As members of the Resiliency Action Teams, youths will develop skills in data collection and observation, communication, teamwork, project planning and implementation. At the conclusion of the EduCATE program year, participants will present their projects at Rutgers. The Department of 4-H Youth Development had previously facilitated a similar concept in a workshop in partnership with the New Jersey Climate Change Resource Center; Rutgers Center for Mathematics, Science, and Computer Education; Rutgers Center for Ocean Observing Leadership; Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute; Rutgers Cooperative Extension and the Rutgers Science Explorer Program. 

The inaugural cohort of the EduCATE program includes Academy I Middle School (Jersey City), Infinity Institute (Jersey City), Lincoln Middle School (Kearny), Newark School of Data Science and Information Technology (Newark), Union Hill Middle School (Union City), and William L. Dickinson High School (Jersey City). The project will officially kick off in July 2026. Learn more about this initiative on the 4-H STEM website.

This effort is part of Building a Climate Ready NJ, a resilience initiative of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Rutgers professor Laura Schneider (second row, center) and doctoral student Leonard Calzada (back row, second from right) with students from Colegio de Bachilleres Técnico Forestal de Zoh Laguna 007, located in Zoh Laguna, Campeche, Mexico.

When people think of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, images of turquoise waters, white-sand beaches, pristine jungles and ancient Mayan cities often come to mind. Yet beyond these iconic landscapes lies a region where tropical forests, agricultural lands and local communities are navigating the complex realities of environmental change.

A Rutgers-led international research collaboration is helping to better understand those challenges while creating new opportunities for scientific discovery, education, and global engagement.

Supported by a Rutgers Global Seed Grant for International Collaborative Research, Laura Schneider, professor in the Department of Geography in the School of Arts and Sciences, and Ben Lintner, professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, together with Geography doctoral candidate Leonardo Calzada, recently traveled to the southern Yucatán to advance research on the interactions among tropical forests, agricultural land use, and climate variability.

Calzada, who will join New Mexico State University as a tenure-track faculty member in fall 2026, is advised in his doctoral studies by Schneider, who also serves as graduate program director in Geography.

The project brings together complementary expertise from across Rutgers. Schneider has spent more than two decades studying forest resilience and the ecological impacts of disturbance in the Yucatán, while Lintner’s research focuses on the atmospheric processes that drive tropical climate variability. Together, they are examining how diverse landscapes—where forests, farms, and managed vegetation coexist—interact with climate across space and time.

Understanding these relationships is increasingly important as communities around the world confront the effects of climate change, shifting land-use patterns, and growing demands on natural resources.

Rutgers professors Laura Schneider (center) and Ben Lintner (right) with Rigoberto Mukul Díaz, forest technician and project coordinator for Proyectos Forestales Petcacab, at the site of the weather station installation in Petcacab, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

“The Yucatán provides a unique living laboratory for studying how climate and land-use change influence one another,” said Lintner. “Understanding the interactions between the region’s diverse ecological and agricultural landscapes and climate can offer valuable insights that inform both basic scientific knowledge and sustainable land management practices.”

During their visit, the team installed two meteorological stations that will collect high-frequency measurements of environmental conditions, including air temperature and rainfall. The stations provide critical data that will complement ongoing field research measuring forest biomass, vegetation composition, and ecosystem health.

The new monitoring infrastructure strengthens Rutgers’ capacity to conduct long-term environmental research while deepening collaborations with local partners and communities.

Equally important was the team’s commitment to education and capacity building.

Working alongside students and teachers at the Colegio de Bachilleres Técnico Forestal de Zoh Laguna 007, a technical forestry high school in Campeche, Mexico, the Rutgers researchers spent two days training approximately 20 students in forest biomass inventories and climate data collection techniques. The hands-on experience introduced students to scientific field methods while demonstrating how environmental data can help address real-world challenges.

The exchange reflects the broader goals of Rutgers Global’s seed grant program, which supports international partnerships that advance research, education, and societal impact.

For Schneider, the collaboration represents an opportunity to connect research and education across borders while helping build the next generation of environmental scientists.

“Training students to collect and interpret environmental data not only supports our research but also strengthens local capacity for understanding and managing natural resources,” Schneider said.

The partnership is expected to continue through future collaborative activities, including a proposed workshop focused on tropical forests and climate science. Ongoing efforts also include preparing local field liaisons to operate and maintain the meteorological stations. These liaisons will, in turn, help build community capacity by teaching others how to access, manage, and apply the environmental data generated by the stations. Together, these activities will strengthen ties between Rutgers and institutions in the Yucatán while expanding opportunities for student engagement, community participation and international research.

By combining expertise in forest ecology, climate science and environmental monitoring, the Rutgers team is generating knowledge that can help communities better understand the connections between land, climate, and sustainability. The project also demonstrates the value of international collaboration in addressing environmental challenges that transcend geographic boundaries.

Versión en español

Site sketches.

What if a walk across campus could be as restorative as it is educational?

That question is inspiring a new vision for the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS), where faculty, students, and campus leaders are exploring how the grounds of the George H. Cook Campus might evolve into a Health and Wellness Arboretum—a living landscape that supports learning, research, environmental stewardship, and human well-being.

For generations, college campuses have served as shared spaces where students, faculty, and staff live, work, study, and connect. At SEBS, the campus already offers a rich mosaic of forests, farms, gardens, open spaces, and historic landscapes. The emerging Health and Wellness Arboretum concept asks a simple but transformative question: How might these landscapes be intentionally connected and enhanced to support the health of both people and the environment?

This spring, students in the Planting Design course taught by Holly Grace Nelson, professor of practice in the Department of Landscape Architecture, took on that challenge. Through a semester-long design exploration, students imagined the campus as more than a collection of labeled trees. Instead, they envisioned a network of themed “tree gardens” and health and wellness landscapes linked by an arboretum loop that would connect existing forests, trails, agricultural lands, gardens, and other campus features.

Their vision builds upon the traditional role of an arboretum as a living museum dedicated to the cultivation, study, and conservation of trees and woody plants. While arboreta have long served as centers for scientific research, education, biodiversity conservation, and recreation, the Health and Wellness Arboretum expands that mission by intentionally integrating human wellness into the landscape experience.

The project began with listening.

Students organized a design charrette that brought together faculty, staff, and students from across the campus community to discuss what makes outdoor spaces meaningful, welcoming, and restorative. The conversations generated ideas about accessibility, environmental education, quiet reflection, social connection, and opportunities for physical activity.

Jason Grabosky, professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, and director of the Rutgers Urban Forestry Program, shared his work documenting and geolocating significant campus trees. His insights highlighted the extraordinary diversity of the campus landscape and the ecological stories already embedded within its forests and tree collections.

Patty Oehmke, director of wellness at SEBS and professor of practice in the Department of Family and Community Health Sciences, encouraged students to think beyond traditional notions of health. Drawing on the eight dimensions of wellness, she challenged participants to consider how landscapes might support emotional, social, cultural, spiritual, intellectual, occupational, environmental, and physical well-being.

The resulting ideas ranged from contemplative garden spaces and outdoor classrooms to sensory plantings, wellness walking routes, interpretive signage, gathering spaces, and immersive nature experiences designed to encourage reflection, movement, and connection.

The initiative aligns closely with Rutgers’ broader commitment to sustainability and environmental leadership. Increasingly, colleges and universities are recognizing that campus landscapes can serve multiple purposes simultaneously—as classrooms, research sites, biodiversity refuges, community gathering spaces, and places that contribute to mental and physical health.

A Health and Wellness Arboretum also reflects the growing understanding that human health is deeply connected to environmental health. Exposure to nature has been associated with reduced stress, improved mood, enhanced cognitive function, and increased opportunities for physical activity. By weaving these principles into the design and management of campus landscapes, institutions can create environments that actively support learning and well-being.

The concept continues to gain momentum this summer as landscape architecture junior Saanvi Bhattarai further develops some of the most promising ideas through the Public Design Internship Program in Landscape Architecture, funded through a grant secured by Nelson. Based in Rutgers Institutional Planning and Operations, Bhattarai is working with Brian Clemson, University Landscape Architect, to explore how student-generated concepts might inform future campus planning efforts. Co-directed by Clemson and Nelson, the internship provides an opportunity to advance the Health and Wellness Arboretum vision beyond the classroom, connecting academic design exploration with real-world campus planning and landscape stewardship.

For Nelson, the initiative represents an opportunity to connect the strengths of SEBS—its expertise in environmental science, agriculture, ecology, design, and human well-being—into a unified vision for the future.

“A Health and Wellness Arboretum ties together our campus grounds with our campus mission for a healthy and sustainable future,” Nelson said. “It invites us to think about how every landscape can support learning, stewardship, community, and wellness while reinforcing our responsibility to balance the wellbeing of all living organisms with the health of the earth.”

As the concept evolves, the Health and Wellness Arboretum offers a compelling vision for what a modern land-grant campus can be: a living laboratory, a place of discovery, and a landscape designed not only to educate, but also to nurture.

New Jersey 4-H Leadership Academy 2026 participants L-R: Rylie Fellin, Aditi Anand, Aily Wei, Ethan Karuru, and Raima Bera.

Five New Jersey 4-H teen members traveled to Washington, D.C., from May 19–21, 2026, to participate in the national 4-H Leadership Academy, a program that aims to develop young leaders into lifelong problem-solvers who are passionate about tackling society’s biggest challenges. Representing New Jersey 4-H were Aditi Anand (Middlesex County), Raima Bera (Morris County), Rylie Fellin (Somerset County), Ethan Karuru (Bergen County), and Aily Wei (Essex County).

The academy was founded by Joel Roth, an Atlanta-based businessman and philanthropist who believed that an investment in 4-H was an investment in society through the next generation of leaders. Prior to his passing in spring 2025, Roth spoke about his motivation for establishing the 4-H Leadership Academy.

“The problems facing our society are getting bigger and bigger, and more and more lasting. It’s increasingly important that we prepare young people to be thoughtful, effective leaders who are well positioned to take on these challenges. 4-H’s national reach, university-backed expertise, network of highly trained educators, in-person and virtual programming options, and longstanding reputation make them the perfect positive youth development partner for this new academy.”

Across the United States, 4-H clubs and camps form the youth component of a partnership among local, state, and federal governments and public land-grant universities. In New Jersey, 4-H Youth Development is a department within Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE). Faculty and staff are based in each of New Jersey’s 21 counties, delivering research-based, evidence-backed science from the university to families throughout the Garden State.

“Programs offered through 4-H provide youth an opportunity to not only learn, but to share what they’ve learned. I believe that the young people involved in the 4-H Leadership Academy embody this to the fullest,” said Matthew Newman, chair of the Department of 4-H Youth Development.

New Jersey is one of five states invited to participate in the program, along with Ohio, Minnesota, Alabama, and Idaho. Each state selected five high school sophomores to represent their state over the next two years. These teens will complete a rigorous leadership curriculum covering topics including critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and civic engagement. Participants will also identify and research a community issue and develop and carry out a plan of action in collaboration with local community leaders.

2026 4-H Leadership Academy teen participants and national leadership team members.

From May 19–21, Aditi, Raima, Rylie, Ethan, and Aily met in Washington, D.C., to kick off the two-year program alongside fellow participants, national stakeholders, representatives from National 4-H Council, congressional 4-H alumni, and national 4-H award recipients. In addition to program activities, the teens explored U.S. history through tours of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, the Lincoln Memorial, and a nighttime bus tour of the city. Although their time together was brief, the 25 participants bonded quickly, and no one wanted to say goodbye. The group’s next in-person gathering will be held in spring 2028 for the Capstone Project Showcase.

“The youth participating in this program represent a wide range of lived experiences but share the same desire to positively impact their communities,” said Kelly Dziak, 4-H agent and state contact for the program. “Each teen’s unique perspective adds depth to conversations and provides insight into the complexity of community barriers. Participants work together to share ideas for solutions and resources.”

The New Jersey 4-H youth are supported throughout the program by Kelly Dziak, Morris County 4-H agent, and their adult 4-H mentors: Rodrigo Sanchez Hernandez (Hudson County), Alyssa Glynn (Bergen County), Laura Bovitz (Middlesex County), Lisa Rothenburger (Somerset County), Marissa Staffen (Essex County), and Valerie Smit (Morris County). Additional support is provided by Harry Brochinsky, 4-H administrator.

Assistant Professor Fiorella Prada, the 2026 AZ Teacher of the Year at SEBS Convocation.

Fiorella Prada, assistant professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, was named the 2026 Alpha Zeta Professor of the Year at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS). Prada was first recognized at the school’s Baccalaureate where she was presented with a certificate by Alpha Zeta.

Fiorella Prada at SEBS Baccalaureate with her certificate for 2026 AZ Teacher of the Year.

Prada joined Rutgers in November 2021 as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences and was promoted to assistant professor in September 2023.

Her passion for ocean science began early while growing up in Mozambique, where she moved with her parents at the age of three, and where the Indian Ocean served as both her backyard and her first “natural laboratory.” Fascinated by the coral fragments and marine life she encountered, she developed the curiosity that would eventually shape her career in marine science and oceanography. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Natural Science and a master’s degree in Ecology from the University of Parma (Italy). This was followed by a Ph.D. in Biodiversity and Evolution in 2014 from the University of Bologna (Italy).

Today, her research broadly focuses on the impacts of ocean warming and acidification on marine environments. Her teaching inspires students to actively engage with scientific discovery as she describes below.

“I aim to bring students into the practice of science rather than simply teaching them about it. I see teaching and research as inseparable: my research strengthens my teaching, while my students continuously challenge and refine how I think and communicate science,” said Prada.

“I strive to create an environment where curiosity, enthusiasm, and hands-on experience make ocean science both accessible and engaging, and where students feel part of the scientific process rather than observers of it,” she added.

Prada’s passion for teaching and mentorship has left a lasting impression on her students, many of whom describe her as both an inspiring educator and a compassionate mentor:

Dr. Prada truly deserves all of the recognition she receives as such a thoughtful and enthusiastic professor whom I’ve had the pleasure of being taught by! She’s made me feel eager to learn and consistently encourages her students to succeed in their pursuits. – Victoria Samuel

Dr. Prada is the first person to support students academically, personally, and professionally with unrelenting enthusiasm. Dr. Prada is the coolest role model who gives the best advice and truly inspires all to work hard and enjoy the work they do. – Amaya Baez and Natalie Dinerman

Dr. Prada is incredibly passionate about the work she does, and this passion makes being taught by her truly a wonderful experience. She is a professor who cares deeply about her students and their success. I feel very fortunate to have taken classes with her. – Olivia Loya

The students’ words of praise and deep appreciation are for a teacher whose impact has extended far beyond the classroom, inspiring students to move into the world with confidence, curiosity, and a lasting commitment to excellence, compassion and discovery.

Learn more about the work of 2026 Alpha Zeta Teacher of the Year awardee in a previous Newsroom story.

Grayson Tung, Senior Coordinator for the Pesticide Safety Education Program, RCE.

We are pleased to announce that Grayson Tung has joined Rutgers Cooperative Extension as the new Senior Coordinator for the Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP).

He has also been deeply involved in mentoring undergraduate students in research and has contributed extensively to outreach activities across Rutgers and the broader community. His efforts have included presentations for prospective students, school outreach programs, Rutgers Day activities, and mentorship programs supporting undergraduate education and career development in entomology. In recognition of these contributions, Tung received the 2026 SGS Graduate Student Excellence in Leadership and Teaching Award.

As Senior Coordinator of PSEP, he will help lead statewide educational and certification programs for pesticide applicators across New Jersey. The Rutgers Pesticide Safety Education Program provides training and educational resources to farmers, landscapers, pest management professionals, mosquito control personnel, and other stakeholders to support safe, effective, and legally compliant pesticide use throughout the state. 

Tung brings strong expertise in insect biology, applied entomology, education, and public engagement. We are excited to welcome him to Rutgers and look forward to the many contributions he will make to Rutgers Cooperative Extension and New Jersey integrated pest and mosquito management.

Please join us in welcoming Grayson Tung to Rutgers University!

Drone image of a “living shoreline” at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, taken in October 2025. Offshore concrete reef structures reduce wave power, while smaller curved reefs and planted marsh and seagrass help slow water, trap sediment and create habitat. Together, the system is designed to protect the shoreline and grow into a natural, self-sustaining coastal ecosystem. Photo: Eric Sparks, Mississippi State University

Scientists report that a living reef coastal defense system can reduce wave power significantly, suggesting the approach could offer a new way to protect shorelines from storms and rising seas.

Their findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by an international team that included nine Rutgers University researchers, provide one of the most detailed tests to date of whether a hybrid reef system combining living organisms with artificial structures can function as coastal protection infrastructure.

View of a small, curved reef built from shell bags and mini modules. Made with recycled oyster shells, the structure is already attracting oysters, mussels and barnacles, and will continue to grow over time. Photo: Jenny Shinn

“We set out to build a kind of living reef, something that combines natural and engineered materials and can repair itself over time, to help protect coastlines from flooding, erosion and storm damage that are putting both communities and critical infrastructure at risk,” said David Bushek, a professor with the Department of Marine and Coastal Studies at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Studies and a lead author of the study. “So far, the results are encouraging. What we built is working.”

The study focused on a modular reef system placed offshore of a military site along the Florida Panhandle. The reef was designed to evolve naturally with marshes, seagrass and other aspects of coastal habitats to form what the researchers call a “Living Shoreline Mosaic^TM.” Built from porous concrete modules to reduce wave power, the hybrid structure combines engineering and natural processes and since has been colonized by oysters and other marine life, forming a natural reef that builds on and strengthens the original framework.

Researchers found the hybrid reef system reduced wave power by more than 90% in tests, while supporting reef growth and working together with surrounding coastal habitats to stabilize the shoreline.

Researchers based their conclusions on field measurements at the site, along with modeling and ongoing monitoring of wave energy, sediment movement and early reef development following installation.

The project was developed through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Reefense program and installed between October 2024 and March 2025 at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida. The base was heavily damaged by Hurricane Michael in 2018, prompting U.S. Department of Defense officials to investigate new ways to protect vulnerable coastlines.

Underwater view of oysters growing on Reefense Modules. Some were planted as tiny juveniles to jump-start reef formation, while others settled naturally, showing how the structure is becoming a living reef. Photo: Jenny Shinn

Researchers from Rutgers and partner institutions were brought in through the Reefense program to design the hybrid reef system and investigate whether it could function as coastal infrastructure and provide a longer-lasting alternative to traditional engineered structures.

In coastal engineering, reducing wave energy is the primary way to limit shoreline erosion and storm damage, Bushek said. The reef functions like a breakwater, an off shore structure that absorbs wave energy before it reaches land and became more effective over time as the reef grew.

If the system continues to perform as expected, researchers said it could represent a shift in how shorelines are protected, shifting the emphasis from structures that fight nature to systems designed to work with it.

“The Reefense Modules^TM and Living Shoreline Mosaic^TM strategy advance the field of nature-based solutions for shoreline protection and can be applied anywhere oysters form reefs,” Bushek said. “In the face of increasing storms and rising seas, it is critical to develop strategies that protect our coasts.”

Rutgers researchers on the study also included co-lead investigators Ximing Guo, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences; Hani Nassif, professor in the Department of Civil Engineering; and Richard Riman, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Other Rutgers researchers on the study included: Reid Holland, a doctoral student; and Michael Ruszala, a master’s degree student, with the Rutgers School of Engineering; and Zhenwei Wang, postdoctoral associate, Jenny Shin, field researcher, and the late Danielle Kreeger, research scientist, all with the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences in the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.

This article first appeared in Rutgers Today.

Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni inductee James F. Dougherty RC’74, GSNB’75 in the Rutgers–New Brunswick Honors College on the College Avenue campus. Photo by John O’Boyle.

James F. Dougherty was a Rutgers University–New Brunswick graduate student contemplating a career as a veterinarian in the mid-1970s when he took a break from working in a lab. 

“I went outside at lunchtime and there was this grungy little terrier-esque dog all covered with something,” he says. 

He picked up the filthy, smelly young stray that was roaming around Passion Puddle near Bartlett Hall on the Cook College campus and took it into the lab, washing it off in a sink. After removing the brown, muddy gunk from its black and white fur, Dougherty took the dog home to his apartment he shared with three other students. “We’ve got a dog,” he told them.

It would be his first dog. He had never lived in a home with a dog as a pet.

“I named her Molly—short for molecule—for whatever it was that was covering her body,” he says.

Dougherty in 2016 with dogs Liam and Declan, both soft-coated wheaten terriers. He now has a 12-year-old of the same breed named Ronan.

He later had Molly spayed at a veterinarian’s office in East Brunswick where he volunteered. When he moved to Philadelphia to study to be a veterinarian at the University of Pennsylvania, his mother took Molly in for him because his apartment didn’t allow pets.

Molly would go on to be a beloved member of the Dougherty family for 16 years and the first in a series of dogs he would own. She also would be one of many thousands of dogs and cats treated by Dougherty or veterinarians, including a roster of specialists, who worked at Metropolitan Veterinary Associates, a practice he cofounded in 1986. His accomplished and rewarding career ultimately would earn him the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

The inspiring moments of his veterinary career were numerous. “There always would be some way you could create joy for people in their lives and for their pets,” says Dougherty, who sold the practice and retired in 2023. 

“One of the greatest things in the world to see is when somebody drops off a blind dog in the morning and the ophthalmologist removes their cataracts,” he says. “The dog walks out into the waiting room and you see its tail start wagging. People usually start crying because their dog hasn’t seen them in a year or two. Observing things like that was great.”

The Road to Giving Back to Rutgers 

Dougherty’s kindness and generosity of spirit have not been limited to caring for animals. They have been in action at Rutgers for decades, both in volunteering and generous financial support of the university, particularly in the areas of LGBTQ+ issues and the Rutgers–New Brunswick Honors College. 

Born in South Philadelphia, he moved to Deptford in South Jersey with his mother when he was 8, where they lived with his grandmother. His mother worked as a barmaid at a corner bar and his grandmother worked for the phone company in Philadelphia, leaving as early as 4 a.m. each morning for the long commute by bus and train.

When he first visited Rutgers–New Brunswick in the late 1960s, he says he “immediately felt at home,” leaving behind painful memories of being bullied in elementary, middle, and high school. 

A first-generation college student, he earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences in 1974 and a master’s in animal science in 1975, graduating debt free. “I’ve always been very grateful to Rutgers for that,” he says.

Dougherty’s motivation to support Rutgers accelerated in the 1990s when he was cleaning up the basement of his late mother’s home and found a storage box full of documents pertaining to aid he had received from Rutgers more than 20 years before. He had been an undergraduate who benefitted from the Rutgers Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) program in addition to other need and merit-based scholarships. 

Rutgers–New Brunswick Honors College sophomore Nkosazana Burke-Douglas with Dougherty in the Dougherty Study lounge.

“I grew up not having any money and not being able to do many things,” he says. “I wanted to pay back what Rutgers gave me with interest.” 

Today, his generous financial gifts include support of the Rutgers–New Brunswick Honors College, where a room known as The Dougherty Study is dedicated in memory of his mother, Dorothy R. Urban, and his grandmother, Mary B. Robinson.

He also has given generously of his time. His extensive participation and volunteering include serving on many Rutgers committees, most notably the last six years on the Board of Governors, where he is vice chair, a position he will hold through the end of June. Dougherty previously served on the Board of Trustees from 2012–2020, where he served as chair and vice chair and was instrumental in establishing the Scarlet Promise Initiative, a foundational scholarship program at Rutgers that has raised millions and supported thousands of students. 

He also serves or has served in various roles, including the Rutgers University–Camden Board of Directors, the Rutgers–New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences Advisory Council, and the School of Public Health Dean’s Leadership Council.

In addition to his support of Rutgers, he is a generous benefactor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, endowing the chair held by the first violinist and assistant concertmaster. He also funded the orchestra’s Pride Concert for the past two years.

A Champion of LGBTQ+

One of Dougherty’s key efforts has been to support inclusion and causes at Rutgers, including a $3 million gift in 2023 that established the Perry N. Halkitis Endowed Chair in LGBTQ+ Public Health. He has been an active supporter and volunteer for the Rutgers–New Brunswick Honors College LGBTQ+ Learning Collaborative and the Tyler Clementi Center Advisory Board. 

Dougherty spoke at the dedication of the university’s first Pride Bus.

In 2022, he funded the wrapping of the first Pride Bus, which featured a design celebrating more than 50 years of support for the LGBTQ+ community on the Rutgers–New Brunswick campus.

Dougherty says he was moved and troubled by the case of Clementi, a Rutgers student who took his own life in 2010. Dougherty has been a sponsor of a table including Honors leadership at the annual Tyler Clementi Foundation’s Upstander Legacy Celebration as well as a sponsor of an Upstander Legacy Lecture which brought Tyler Clementi’s mother to campus. 

He also has regularly provided words of encouragement. “My advice to current LGBTQ+ students at Rutgers would be to listen to your ‘inner voice,’” he wrote in a blog post for Student Affairs. “Don’t worry about what you think others think of you. Be brave. You always have a family—even if they are not related to you.” 

As for being inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni, Dougherty says he was honored to learn the news. 

“It just blew me away,” he says. “I never in a million years thought I would be in the Hall of Distinguished Alumni. When I looked at some of the past recipients, I didn’t think I was worthy of something like this, but I’m super proud and super happy about it.”

This article first appeared in Rutgers Today. Read more about the 2026 HDA Inductees.