Student Earns National Biological Sciences Recognition

– Jamie Wagner, a Florida Tech junior and marine biology major, has been awarded a
prestigious Sigma Xi GIAR (Grant-in-Aid of Research) award. She was honored for her research into how habitat type, that is, the presence or absence of
vegetation, mediates the interaction between an invasive introduced species and a native species of fish in Florida.

“It is very difficult to get these grants,” said Wagner’s faculty advisor, Florida Tech associate professor of biological sciences, Dr. Ralph Turingan.

Wagner, from Arlington Heights, Ill., plans to graduate with her bachelor’s degree in May, 2007.

The scientific research society, Sigma Xi, has provided GIAR grants for more than 80 years. The program’s aim is to promote scientific excellence and
achievement through hands-on learning. The grants are funded through the National Academy of Sciences and fun travel expenses to and from a research site
or the purchase of non-standard laboratory equipment that is necessary to complete a specific research project.