Ithaca, NY, January 27, 2012 - New York Sea Grant Associate Director Katherine Bunting-Howarth will present on "Future Roles for Sea Grant Research and Extension" on Tuesday, January 31 at 3:30 pm in 135 Emerson at Cornell University. Bunting-Howarth's talk kicks off the 2012 Spring Semester seminar series for Cornell University's College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Department of Natural Resources.

"The goal here is to educate a new generation of natural resource scientists and managers about Sea Grant and interact with the students and faculty to learn more about what we see as potential new and emerging topics for NYSG to address," says Bunting-Howarth.

"I'm looking forward to learning what these bright and creative students see as the significant future issues and program delivery methods our organization should prepare to address and utilize. Also, I'd like to open a discussion on how this interdisciplinary program can inform future research efforts and expand upon our portfolio of social science."

More information on the series, including the full schedule, will be made available via the Department's Web site.

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a statewide network of integrated research, education, and extension services promoting the coastal economic vitality, environmental sustainability and citizen awareness about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources, has been “Bringing Science to the Shore” for over 40 years. NYSG, one of 32 university-based programs under the National Sea Grant College Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is a cooperative program of the State University of New York and Cornell University. The National Sea Grant College Program engages this network of the nation’s top universities in conducting scientific research, education, training, and extension projects designed to foster science-based decisions about the use and conservation of our aquatic resources.