In the Beginning

Shark Research & Conservation Program (SRC) evolved from modest beginnings. As a Masters Student back in 2003, Neil Hammerschlag (Director of SRC), volunteered at South Broward High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he helped teach high school students how to create maps based on real data he had collected on the behaviors of great white shark in South Africa that was part of his graduate research. It wasn’t long before Hammerschlag and the school’s visionary Magnet Coordinator, Ted Davis, dreamed up the crazy idea to try and send these young students to South Africa with Hammerschlag, to be a part of the actual data collection and research. Luckily, Davis and Hammerschlag were able to obtain a special grant to do just that. So, In June 2004, Hammerschlag led a group of students to South Africa. For most of the kids it was their first time on an airplane, let alone an expedition to South Africa to study great white sharks! The trip was a great success. It made headline news, and the data generated produced three scientific publications.

Energized from the success of the expedition, Hammerschlag began crafting an outreach program based out of the University of Miami (UM) where he had just started to pursue his Ph.D. in marine biology. Through great fortune, Hammerschlag gained the support of several great organizations and individuals, who helped make the dream a reality by creating the South Florida Student Shark Program (SFSSP). This included the Batchelor Foundation (BF), Herbert W. Hoover Foundation (HWH), Explorers Club (EC), Sandy and Jon Batchelor (BF), Rose Mann (UM), David Die (UM, SFSSP Co-Director), Joe Serafy (UM), Lacey Hoover (HWH), Stan Spielman (EC), Hank Luria (EC), Rosemarie Twinam (EC), as well as teachers from South Broward High School (SBHS), Mast Academy (MAST) and Palmer Trinity School (PTS), particularly Deb Hixon (SBHS), Mark Tohulka (MAST), Robert Mcglynn (PTS), and Leann Winn (PTS).

Over the next 3 years, SFSSP conducted over 200 field trips, laboratory sessions and workshops, exposing more than 1000 students to field research. The data collected produced 5 scientific publications and generated international media attention including CNN, Discovery Channel, and Animal Planet to name just a few.

Shark Research & Conservation Program (SRC)

Through the combined efforts of several individuals, a unique program was born on January 18th, 2010, with Hammerschlag at the helm. Operating at the intersection of science, education and outreach, SRC enables UM to build upon its internationally recognized programs in marine and ecosystem science and foster innovative interdisciplinary approaches to emerging environmental issues. SRC is a joint initiative of the Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science and the Leonard and Jayne Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy at the University of Miami. Since then, the Program continues to grow with the generous support of its staff, students, volunteers, partners and sponsors.