A new joint scholarship launched by the Forrest Research Foundation, The University of Western Australia and National Geographic's Pristine Seas will enhance the State's capacity to attract PhD researchers to Perth.
Further extending a 10-year partnership between UWA and National Geographic's Pristine Seas, the new scholarship will see the recipient reside at Forrest Hall and join a vibrant intellectual community of more than 60 researchers who are part of the Forrest Research Foundation program, serving all five Western Australian universities.
The inaugural recipient of the joint scholarship is Julien Magne from France. Mr Magne recently completed a master's degree in Aquaculture and Marine and Fisheries Management in Corsica.
His PhD research will focus on studying remote ecosystems within the Pacific Ocean. These ecosystems are vital, but with the growing demand for fish for human consumption, their remoteness is becoming less of a barrier against overfishing. The Pristine Seas project aims to protect such places, and Mr Magne's work will help develop an understanding of these unique ecosystems.
"I enjoy learning about and observing all living creatures, but my longest and strongest passion has always been the marine environment and its species," Mr Magne said. "From this interest, I then developed a keen determination to study the best ways to protect them."
He joins a thriving community of more than 60 PhD scholars and postdoctoral fellows and their families living at Forrest Hall, who bring their talents and creativity from all parts of the world to WA to conduct ground-breaking research.
Professor James Arvanitakis, Director of the Forrest Research Foundation, said collaborating with prestigious organisations such as National Geographic's Pristine Seas enabled the Foundation to grow its research impact locally as well enhance the global reputation of the State and the Foundation.
"While the Foundation has no specific research themes, the researchers we attract from around the world are drawn to us because of our unique marine environment," Professor Arvanitakis said.
Professor Alan Friedlander, Chief Scientist at National Geographic Pristine Seas, said Mr Magne was the second PhD student that Pristine Seas had supported at UWA.
"Our successful and ongoing 10-year partnership with the Marine Futures Lab creates important opportunities for PhD students to learn about expedition science and apply their learnings to marine conservation," Professor Friedlander said.
"Extending this agreement to include the Forrest Research Foundation strengthens the relationship and grows the prestige of the scholarship."
UWA Oceans Institute's Professor Jessica Meeuwig, Wen Family Chair in Conservation, has worked over many years to grow a highly dynamic research lab at the University, which has attracted global attention with its innovative research to monitor the health of oceans.
Professor Meeuwig, who will be responsible for supervising the new PhD candidate, said the number of bright and talented young researchers outstripped the number of scholarships available.
"The combination of National Geographic's Pristine Seas scholarship and the Forrest Research Foundation's unique residential model brings many world-class researchers from across the world to Perth, allowing us to further our impact on ocean conservation while providing the student with an outstanding opportunity to participate in expedition science," she said.
