ECU student’s coastal research honored

GREENVILLE (Feb. 28, 2008) — An East Carolina University coastal studies student received the 2008 Walter B. Jones Memorial Awards and NOAA Awards for Excellence in Coastal and Ocean Management.

Heather Ward, a doctoral student in ECU’s Coastal Resource Management Program, was one of four North Carolinians who received the award Feb. 27 at the Capitol in Raleigh.

In addition to her work at ECU, Ward, a Rocky Mount resident, is the 2007-08 North Carolina Sea Grant science communications fellow and a writer for Coastwatch. Her studies at ECU include interpreting hurricane graffiti, emergency communication and risk perceptions, and media coverage of climate change research.

“Heather is breaking new ground by examining the role of language and communication in coastal management, paying close attention to how the public, scientists, and policy-makers talk about the coast and its various challenges and opportunities,” said Derek Alderman, ECU professor of geography and co-author of the study, “Writing on the Plywood: Toward an Analysis of Hurricane Graffiti.”

U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones presented the awards that honor his father, the late U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones.