October 2023
Dr. Hanisak was unanimously appointed as a Special Advisor to the Link Foundation in June 2022. Since 2000, he has been associated with the Link Foundation as the Educational Program Director of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University’s Summer Internship Program, and other educational initiatives supported by the Link Foundation. The Summer Internship Program, which began in 1974 with the support of the Link Foundation, is the oldest program of any kind at Harbor Branch and the Link Foundation has been the major supporter of the Summer Intern Program since its inception.
Dr. Hanisak currently serves as Research Professor and Director of Education at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University, and is Director of its Indian River Lagoon Observatory. Dr. Hanisak holds an AB degree from Rutgers University, a MS degree in Botany and a PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Rhode Island. He brings a strong knowledge of marine sciences and educational programming to the Link Foundation Board.
Dr. Hanisak joins five Trustees and thirteen Special Advisors who form the leadership team to guide and expand the Link legacy and enhance the mission of the Link Foundation.
Name: Candelaria Bergero
Department: Earth System Science
School: University of California Irvine
Project: A Just Transition to a Net-Zero Energy System in the United States
Research Advisor: Dr. Steven J. Davis
Name: Sabrina Marecos
Department: Biological and Environmental Engineering
School: Cornell University
Project: Genetic Engineering for Biomining Rare Earth Elements for Sustainable Energy Technologies
Research Advisor: Dr. Buz Barstow
Name: Samuel Miles
Department: Energy and Resources Group
School: University of California, Berkeley
Project: The Power of Health in Africa: Measuring the Impacts of Electricity Quality and Reliability on Health Facility Performance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Research Advisor: Dr. Daniel Kammen
Name: Amanda Whai Shin Ooi
Department: Chemical Engineering
School: Columbia University
Project: Developing Structural Ligands and CO2-based Hydrometallurgy: Recovery, Separation, and Purification of Energy-Relevant Elements from Secondary Resources
Research Advisor: Dr. Alissa Ah-Hyung Park
Name: Abhiroop Mishra
Department: Materials Science and Engineering
School: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
Project: Assessing the Real-Time Surface Degradation in High-Voltage Cathodes: Toward Next Generation Batteries for Transport Electrification
Research Advisor: Dr. Joaquín Rodríguez-López
Name: Cristina Crespo Montañés
Department: Energy and Resources Group
School: University of California, Berkeley
Project: Economics, Emissions and Equity: Evaluating the Potential for Urban Solar-Plus-Battery Hybrids to Replace Polluting Peaker Power Plants
Research Advisor: Dr. Duncan Callaway
Name: Rachel Nixon
Department: Chemistry
School: University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Project: Ammonia Fuel Synthesis Through Plasmon-Assisted Electrocatalysis
Research Advisor: Dr. Prashant K. Jain
Name: Prince Ochonma
Department: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
School: Cornell University
Project: Integrated Carbon-Negative Bio-Hydrogen Recovery with Inherent Carbon Removal via Mineralization
Research Advisor: Dr. Greeshma Gadikota
Name: Benjamin Killeen
School: Johns Hopkins University
Project: Interactive Digital Twins for Simulating the Future of Work in AI- and Robot-Assisted Operating Rooms
Research Advisor: Dr. Mathias Unberath
Name: Irene Kim
School: Johns Hopkins University
Project: A Human-in-the-Loop Simulator for Controlling an Upper Limb Prosthesis Using Mixed Reality
Research Advisor: Dr. Peter Kazanzides
Name: Muhammad Twaha Ibrahim
School: University of California Irvine
Project: DYNASAUR: Dynamic Spatially Augmented Reality
Research Advisor: Dr. Aditi Majumder
Name: Tammer Barkouki
School: University of California, Davis
Project: Explainable Human-Autonomy Teaming for Deep Space Exploration
Research Advisor: Dr. Stephen Robinson
Name: Sergio Machaca
School: Johns Hopkins University
Project: Investigating the Efficacy of Dynamically Modulated Multi-Modality Haptic Feedback in Robot-Assisted Minimally Invasive Surgical Training
Research Advisor: Dr. Jeremy Brown
Name: Neeli Tummala
School: University of California, Santa Barbara
Project: Computational Modeling of Human Touch for Haptic Feedback in Virtual Environments
Research Advisor: Dr. Yon Visell
Name: Jake Bonney
Department: Ocean Engineering
School: University of Rhode Island
Project: GPR Based Adaptive Sampling with an Autonomous Kayak and Winch System
Research Advisor: Professor Chris Roman
Name: Julio Chavez-Dorado
Department: Mechanical Engineering
School: University of Washington at Seattle
Project: Sensor-Agnostic Wave and Turbulence Decomposition for Ocean Data
Research Advisor: Professor Michelle DiBenedetto
Name: Kevin Fletcher
Department: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
School: University of Virginia
Project: Semi-Free Semi-Submersible Floating Offshore Wind Substructure
Research Advisor: Professor Eric Loth
Name: Monika Roznere
Department: Computer Science
School: Dartmouth College
Project: Active 3D Reconstruction Using Monocular Camera and Lights: A Multi-View Photometric Stereo Based Next-Best-View Planner for Non-Stationary Robots
Research Advisor: Professor Alberto Quattrini Li
Name: Scott Wieman
Department: Marine Geology and Geophysics and Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Science
School: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Project: A Fiber-Based Isotope Ratio Laser Spectrometer for Measuring Carbon Dioxide Clumped Isotope Ratios in Marine Samples
Research Advisor: Dr. Weifu Guo & Dr. Anna Michel
Name: Devon Northcott
Department: Scripps Institution of Oceanography
School: University of California San Diego
Project: Phased Array Sonar Exploration of 4-Dimensional Variability in Oceanic Flow Structures
Research Advisor: Dr. Drew Lucas & Dr. Jen Mackinnon
Name: Amy Phung
Department: Aeronautics and Astronautics, Applied Ocean Science and Engineering
School: MIT/WHOI Joint Program
Project: Using Multi-Modal Perception to Improve Underwater Manipulation by Shore-Side Users
Research Advisor: Dr. Richard Camilli
Name: Colleen Shortal, Northeastern University
Project: Determining the Role of Bacterial Quorum Sensing in Coral Disease Progression
Research Advisor: Valerie Paul
Name: Samantha Turner-Rosa, Northwestern University and Chicago Botanic Garden
Project: Ecological drivers of climate change-induced geographic range expansion: Floral resources and the potential for pollinator assisted plant migration
Research Advisor: Jennifer Sneed and Loraé Simpson
Name: Giniel Mae Tiongson, University of Philippines – Marine Science Institute
Project: Lipid Metabolism in the Great Star Coral (Montastraea cavernosa) Recovering from Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD)
Research Advisor: Valerie Paul
Name: Ariel Pezner, Ph.D. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego
Project:Experimental Impacts of Coral Reef Hypoxia: a Multi-Stressor Approach
Name: Justin Scioli, Ph.D. University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Project:Infaunal Macrosymbioses: Patterns of Diversity, Host Use, and Co-Occurrence in the Atlantic Coast of Florida
Camille Berardone, Florida Atlantic University Ashley Bobnar, Florida Atlantic University Lily Borema, Florida Institute of Technology Tyler Byland, University of Arizona Noah Gorman, Florida Atlantic University Maria Hernandez Lopez, Florida Gulf Coast University Trinity Hinshaw, Northern Michigan University Victoria Holcomb, University of South Florida Hillary Hoyt, Texas State University Alexander Langner, University of Florida Eden Lewerke, Florida Atlantic University
Over the last 49 years, the Harbor Branch Summer Intern Program has hosted 711 college and university students from around the world. The Program was launched in 1974 with support from the Link Foundation, and it continues to be primarily funded by the Foundation today. Additional support for Interns is provided by the Gertrude E. Skelly Charitable Foundation which funds students to work in the HBOI Marine biomedical and biotechnology program. Other 2023 Internship sponsors include the Marilyn C. Link Memorial Internship, which is supported by the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation, and the Fort Pierce Yacht Club.
The Marilyn C. Link Memorial Internship was established in 2018 in honor of Marilyn’s long service to the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. This internship is focused on Ocean Engineering and Technology which was a special interest of Marilyn's.
This past summer, 15 interns were selected to participate in the 2023 Summer Intern Program. During their 10-week internship, top ocean science and engineering student interns from around the world worked alongside a Harbor Branch faculty mentor to devise, develop, and complete their independent research projects in a variety of topics within marine science and biomedicine, aquaculture, and ocean engineering. At the completion of the Program, each intern presented the results of their research at a Symposium attended by Harbor Branch faculty and staff, friends of Harbor Branch, program sponsors, and family members.
Dr. Dennis Hanisak, Harbor Branch research professor and program director, describes the internship as “a great opportunity for students to experience training in one of our science or engineering labs with faculty mentors and other Harbor Branch staff. This experience better prepares them for future careers and makes them more competitive for jobs when they graduate. We hope that the skills that the Summer Interns learn will be helpful in their future careers.”
Dr. Andrew M. Clark, Link Foundation Trustee, was a Harbor Branch Summer Intern in 1979. You can learn more about Dr. Clark on our web link, “Board of Trustees and Special Advisors,” found at http://www.binghamton.edu/link-foundation/trustees.html.
In 1974, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, then called Harbor Branch Foundation and only three years old at the time, began a summer internship program for college students, launched with funding from the Link Foundation. At the time, Ed Link, the inventor who had recently designed and built Harbor Branch's Johnson‑Sea‑Link manned submersibles, was Vice President of Harbor Branch, and Marilyn C. Link, Ed's sister, was Harbor Branch's first Managing Director. The idea of the intern program was to provide college students an opportunity to further their education and training, outside the traditional classroom setting, in a real‑world situation. Working with a mentor on the Harbor Branch staff, each intern developed a project that could be completed in a few weeks and then reported the results to the Harbor Branch community. During that first summer, ten students spent ten weeks working with mentors in the Marine Science and Engineering Divisions. Back in 1974, there were very few such intern opportunities for students interested in marine science or ocean engineering, and the summer intern program quickly became recognized as a successful one.
Over the last forty-nine years this education program, Harbor Branch's oldest, has continued and prospered and has become a special one to scientists and engineers who are invigorated by the young talent of the interns each year. From 1974 to 2023, there have been 711 summer interns at Harbor Branch/FAU. The interns have benefitted from the opportunity to work one-on-one with over 100 mentors and Harbor Branch/FAU staff members. The Link Foundation has supported about 66% of the interns. Another 12% have been funded by the Gertrude E. Skelly Charitable Foundation, which has been providing major support for interns in marine biomedical research since 1996. Most Harbor Branch/FAU interns go on to professional careers, with nearly half receiving an MS degree and about 1/6 earning a PhD.
For more information on the Harbor Branch/FAU Summer Intern programs, including application material, please visit https//www.fau.edu/hboi/education-and-outreach/summer-internship-program/.
Since 1974, the Link Foundation has supported promising undergraduate and graduate students through the Harbor Branch Summer Intern Program. Less well known is that the Link Foundation has also been encouraging high school students to pursue their future degrees in Engineering and related fields through a scholarship program, also administered by FAU Harbor Branch, since 1974. This initiative was pioneered by Clayton Link. The scholarships are presented in memory of E. Clayton Link, son of the Founders, and Albert D. Stover. Over the years, approximately 109 students have benefitted from these scholarships and the resulting recognition that follows.
Currently up to three scholarships at $1,000 each are awarded to high school graduates to be used at the college/university of the recipient’s choice in the state of Florida. The selection of the recipients is facilitated by partnerships with three science and engineering fairs. Two of these are in the counties most immediately associated with the Harbor Branch community: The Indian River County and St. Lucie County Regional Science and Engineering Fairs, while the third opportunity is state-wide, via the Science and Engineering Fair administered by the Florida Foundation for Future Scientists.
In 2023, two students were selected for Link Foundation scholarships. Jordan Shear, a graduating senior from Sebastian River High School, Sebastian, FL, was the recipient at the 31th Indian River Regional Science and Engineering Fair, held in Vero Beach, FL, in January. Jordan is planning to study Mechanical/Computer Engineering at Florida Institute of Technology this fall. Makaila Johnson, a graduating senior from Edgewood Junior-Senior High School, Merritt Island, FL, was the recipient at the 68th Annual State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida, held in Lakeland, FL, in April. Makaila plans to attend the University of Florida and major in Computer Engineering this fall.
Dennis Hanisak, FAU Harbor Branch Research Professor and Education Director, says: “The recipients of the high school scholarships funded by the Link Foundation are always very grateful for the funding and encouragement that goes with these awards. Each of them has clearly demonstrated a strong interest consistent with the high priorities established by the Link Foundation. It is wonderful to be involved with providing such opportunities to creative young engineers and scientists who will hopefully go on to long, productive careers and make a difference in the world.”
The Link Foundation has had a significant impact at Indian River State College (IRSC) by providing Distinguished Scholar Awards, totaling over $413,500 to more than 126 highly qualified IRSC graduates since 1999. Each year the scholarships are awarded to highly qualified IRSC students who are pursuing a AS or BS degree in the fields of Biology, Aquaculture Management, Computer Information Technology, or Electronics Engineering Technology. The prestigious scholarships are presented annually to students who attain a 3.3 GPA or higher cumulative grade point average at Indian River State College. The students must maintain an annual 3.3 or higher GPA to maintain their funding.
For 2023-2024, six IRSC graduates were awarded Link Foundation Scholarships. We would like to congratulate the scholarship awardees. They are:
For more information about these scholarships, visit www.irscfoundation.org.
The Link Foundation has supported the Link Summer Science Exploration Camp held at the Kopernik Observatory & Science Center located in Vestal, NY, for the past 30 years. This week-long camp offers hands-on, high-tech adventures for students just completing grades 1 – 12. It is focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education across a wide range of topics, and the information is presented at an age-appropriate level. The goal of the program is to engage children to learn about our world and the universe around us and inspire them to consider STEM related careers at an early age.
This camp encourages students to view Edwin A. Link as a role model and someone who was dedicated to life-long learning in science, technology, exploration, and creative problem-solving. Throughout the Summer Science Exploration program, students are encouraged to make a mark on their world like Edwin A. Link.
The Link family, the Link Foundation, and the late Mr. and Mrs. Stuart McCarty (Mr. McCarty was a former Link Foundation Trustee and Special Advisor), established the endowed Edwin A. and Marion C. Link Scholarship Fund in 2007. This fund is administered by The Community Foundation for South Central New York, Inc.
This scholarship is awarded annually to a Binghamton, NY, High School senior who is a resident of Broome County and who has demonstrated a commitment to engineering, with special consideration given to those who have demonstrated a commitment to energy, simulation, marine science, aeronautical or ocean engineering. Since 2013 there have been two annual scholarships awarded, one scholarship to a Binghamton High School student and one to a Seton Catholic High School student who meets the award’s criteria. The students must have at least a 3.0 GPA, or its equivalent, and have been active in community and/or extracurricular activities. The $2,000 scholarships are non-renewable and are to be applied to tuition expenses for the first and second semester of the awardees’ freshman year at a qualified accredited college or university.
The 2023 scholarships were awarded to:
Rosalia graduated from Seton Catholic High School in 2023 with a GPA of 97.74. She plans to attend Clarkson University this fall to major in Computer Engineering. While in high school she was the Team Captain of her Science Olympiad team, she was a member of Mathletes, and she participated in Lockheed Martin’s Engineering Explorers program. She received a Rochester Institute of Technology Computing Medal Scholarship, and the University of Rochester’s Xerox Award for Innovation & Information Technology. She was a member of her High School’s Lacrosse team, and was the Team Captain of her Cross Country team.
Justin graduated from Binghamton High School in 2023 with an overall GPA of 106.871, ranking 3rd in his class of 366 students. While in high school he was a member of the National Honor Society, the Math Honor Society, and the Tri-M Honor Society. Outside of school he is a member of the Binghamton Music Program and plays in multiple ensembles and productions in the area. He plays several instruments including the lead steel pan drum, violin, viola, alto saxophone, and piano. Justin plans to attend Binghamton University this fall to major in Biomedical Engineering.
Congratulations to these fine students who, with their academic and community credentials, have promising futures and exemplify the qualities celebrated by the Edwin A. and Marion C. Link Scholarship.
Aeronautical Radio Inc. (ARINC) presents an annual award in honor of Edwin A. Link at the opening session of the Flight Simulator Engineering and Maintenance Conference (FSEMC) which will take place October 23-26, 2023 in Utrecht, Netherlands. The annual conference, which has been attended by more than 300 flight simulator experts from around the world, identifies technical solutions to engineering and maintenance issues resulting in immediate and long-term savings and increased efficiency for simulator users.
Over the past twenty-two years, ARINC has presented the award in honor of Edwin A. Link to an outstanding member of the simulation community in recognition of their contributions of ideas, leadership and innovation that will benefit the simulation industry. The Edwin A. Link award has become world-renowned as the simulation industry’s highest award for individual achievement.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the inability to have an in-person Conference in 2020 and 2021, the FSEMC Executive Committee deferred presenting the Edwin A. Link award. The 2022 recipient of the award was Dr. Jeffrey Shroeder, Chief Scientist for Flight Simulation Systems, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The Royal Aeronautical Society established the annual Edwin A. Link Lecture Series in 2007 to honor Ed, who is known as the distinguished pioneer of synthetic training. Ed’s remarkable foresight led to the creation of the Link Trainer, or “Blue Box” as it came to be known, the precursor of today’s powerful synthetic training devices, most notably full flight simulators.
The last Edwin A. Link Lecture was presented on October 26, 2021 at the Royal Aeronautical Society’s headquarters in London. Group Captain Paul Cole OBE MA* Royal Air Force, explored the role of technology in present and future UK Military Flying Training Systems as he presented the Edwin A. Link Named Lecture https://www.aerosociety.com/events-calendar/edwin-link-lecture/.
It is expected that the yearly lecture will continue to be held in London or Washington, DC once the COVID pandemic precautions and concerns are behind us.