H-SC Biology professor Alex Werth spent the month of April working at the University of Alaska (UAS) Southeast and the Sitka Sound Science Center on a Scientist in Residence fellowship supported by the National Science Foundation. He got to see gray and humpback whales and loads of other marine life–the number of marine mammal species he has seen so far during his sabbatical year is up to twenty! He saw the most amazing humpback whale breach he has ever seen in decades at sea. He also worked with local high school students (teaching ten classes), judged a middle school science fair, gave a radio interview, did a science cafe, and gave Earth Day and other community science lectures, plus found time to work with UAS scientists on whale feeding.

Prof. Werth is eager to bring this knowledge back to Hampden-Sydney’s marine biology classes, and ideally to bring students up to Alaska so they can see marine mammals for themselves.