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CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State University College of Agricultural Sciences has presented awards to Oregon Sea Grant affiliates Sam Chan and Jerri Bartholomew.

Sam Chan, assistant professor of fisheries and wildlife and the watershed health educator for Oregon Sea Grant Extension, received the “Excellence in Extension Education” award. Jerri Bartholomew, associate professor of microbiology at OSU and a Sea Grant researcher, received an award for “Excellence in Research.”

Chan was nominated for the education award by Dan Edge, head of the OSU Fisheries and Wildlife Department. The award recognizes “achievement of excellence by agricultural Extension agents and specialists who have contributed significantly in helping Oregonians resolve difficult problems through extended educational programs.”

“Teaching isn't something I ever planned or expected to do,” Chan said, “but I’ve come to realize that one of the greatest values of my work is sharing knowledge and getting to watch people use that knowledge to make positive changes.” Chan said the award is “really a reflection of the excellent teaching done by everyone in the Sea Grant family.”

Theo Dreher, chair of the OSU Microbiology Department, nominated Bartholomew for the research award. The award acknowledges Bartholomew’s “outstanding contributions to agriculture through research and development activities associated with the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station.”

Bartholomew, whose research on salmon mortality in the Klamath River system was part of the basis for her award, said, “I have a great group of people in my laboratory that all contributed to this research. What has made it successful is that we’re working on a research problem that is of importance to a broad community, including fishermen, farmers and tribes, and we constantly receive input from all these groups that helps us define our research questions. It also helps us feel that we’re doing something important for the resource.”

For more information, contact Loretta Austin at CAS, [email protected] or 541-737-5813.

Interested in news about science, marine education and related activities on the Oregon coast? Subscribe to “Breaking Waves,” the Oregon Sea Grant news blog: http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu/blogs/