Juniors Nathaniel Isabella (pictured on the left, above) and Marc Ortner (pictured on the right, above) are the recipients of Florida Tech’s 2025-26 Dr. Kerry Bruce Clark Endowed Scholarship in Marine Biology. Both students emphasized the importance of conservation and ocean exploration to combat environmental degradation created by human activity and exploitation.
The award goes to marine biology majors whose dedication and high academic achievement promise an outstanding career in the field. It encourages career development by assisting the recipients with their academic expenses in their final undergraduate year.
Ortner dreams of studying the deep sea and hydrothermal vents. He helped conduct research in professor Robert van Woesik’s Coral Reef Ecology Lab throughout 2024 and will continue to work there while pursuing a master’s degree. He also interned at Mote Marine Laboratory’s Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program, where he documented sea turtle nesting activity.
Outside the classroom, Ortner is a member of the Florida Tech Scuba Club – his interests in both scuba diving and coral reefs explain his passion for ocean exploration. As deep-sea technology advances, he hopes to contribute to a better understanding of our oceans while protecting the life within them from resource exploitation.
“It’s time we uncover our oceans’ secrets before human action wipes everything out,” Ortner wrote in his nominee submission.
Isabella hopes to work in conservation of elasmobranchii – the subclass of cartilaginous fish that includes sharks, rays and sawfish – or invertebrates. He worked in professor Ralph Turnigan’s Aquaculture Laboratories, where he was responsible for a multi-level aquaculture system that grew fish, mollusks and plants. In 2024, he presented research on marine protected areas as a sustainable practice for fisheries at the Northrop Grumman Engineering and Science Student Design Showcase. He is the treasurer and former vice president for Florida Tech’s Student Organization for Sustainable Action. He also helped develop a program through Turnigan’s lab to help teach children science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts.
A South Florida native, Isabella has loved the ocean for as long as he can remember. He developed a passion for marine ecosystems after learning about the human-induced degradation of habitats in his area.
“It’s critical that actions are taken to maintain marine ecosystems and attempt to bring them back to their natural states,” Isabella wrote in his nominee submission.
Ortner and Isabella will be recognized at the Spring Honors Convocation on April 10.
Kerry Clark was a member of the Florida Tech biological sciences faculty from 1971 until his death in 1999. A full professor, he was named a 1996 Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science in honor of his work documenting rare species of sea slugs. His research on mollusks, marine ecology, physiological ecology and biodiversity was widely published in scientific journals.
