October 2023
October 2023
Dear Link Foundation Friends:
We sincerely hope you are enjoying a beautiful autumn season. The Link Foundation Board met this spring at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) at Florida Atlantic University, where we enjoyed seeing each other in person for the first time since 2019. Additionally, we hosted a dinner where a wonderful presentation on the power of citizen scientists was delivered by one of our grant recipient organizations, Ocean Research and Conservation Association (ORCA). Along with being inspirational, it reminded us of the importance of our community grants program, where many wonderful organizations receive critical funding to advance science and technology within their communities.
The Link Foundation’s Fellowship programs also continue to support incredible PhD student research across all three focal areas: Energy; Modeling, Simulation and Training; and Ocean Engineering and Instrumentation. In reviewing the Link Fellows’ achievements, we are reminded that Edwin Link’s body of scientific work in these three areas, and his investment in future research, has played an important role in today’s scientific advancements. Because of the Link family legacy, research is being supported with regard to reconstruction of 3D scenes based on a Photometric Stereo solver to aid autonomous underwater vehicles (Ocean Engineering and Instrumentation); Human-in-the-Loop simulator development for upper limb prosthesis control and training (Modeling, Simulation and Training); and harnessing mineral-dissolving capabilities of a microbe for bio-mining critical metals used in sustainable energy technologies (Energy). The Link Foundation is also proud to continue support of the Summer Intern program at HBOI for undergraduate students, and support a graduate research fellowship at the Smithsonian Marine Station.
In the past 70 years the contributions Link Fellows have made to science is impressive in its complexity and scope. The Link Foundation is proud to have provided over $20 million in educational funding, and we look forward to continuing this important mission.
Cordially,
Shelley D. Dionne, Ph.D.
Chair of the Board of Trustees and Special Advisors
The Link Foundation