¡Hola! My name is Anthony Murphy-Neilson, and I am 26 years old. I grew up in northern Virginia near Washington D.C., but have gotten to spend time around the country, including Connecticut, Florida, and several years in New York! I had a wide variety of interests growing up, from music to sports to exploring nature and doing science. After high school, I was able to keep up with most of these in college, where I studied environmental science and music at the University of Virginia. After college I spent a year working, and deepening my love of the sea, and then I went back to school to get a Master's degree in marine science.
In graduate school, I studied marine ecology, and my focus was on how seagrass in New York is responding to heat stress and disease. Seagrass is an important underwater plant, but it's health is in danger across the world, especially as climate change warms our oceans. While working on this degree, I did a lot of SCUBA diving, and loved being able to fully immerse myself in the underwater world.
This year, I've been lucky enough to recieve a U.S. Fulbright Research Grant, to continue working with seagrass in the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain! This city is in the Canary Islands, which is a temperate island chain in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, and is actually closer to Africa than Europe, but is part of Spain. I'm going to be investigating new methods for restoring seagrass here, and also working on my underwater photography skills in order to better capture and share the magical underwater world with people like you! I'm super excited to get to know you all, and to share my journey as I explore around Spain and under the sea.
Want to learn how you could be a Fulbright Scholar like me? The Fulbright Program is the United States government's flagship international exchange program. Fulbrighters foster mutual understanding between the United States and partner nations, share knowledge across communities, and improve lives around the world. Learn more by clicking here!
