I am Tejaswini Ronur Praful (aka Tej), a first-year PhD student in the Mulholland Group at the Department of Ocean and Earth Sciences, ODU. Prior to joining ODU as a graduate student, I served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biotechnology at St. Joseph’s University in Bangalore, India. I received my first PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Norfolk State University in Virginia, USA, and completed my Master of Technology (MTech) and Bachelor of Engineering (BE) degrees in Biotechnology in India.
The omnipresence of anthropogenic materials poses significant risks to various ecosystems. The complexity of this issue depends on the chemical and physical nature of the anthropogenic material and its interactions with biological systems. My interest in pursuing a second PhD in oceanography stems from this concern. In the context of marine microplastics and nanoplastics, there are many unknowns. Significant research is needed in this direction to better understand these materials and their interactions. Through my future research, I aim to explore how the presence of microplastics in water bodies, primarily the Lafayette River and Chesapeake Bay – affects the algal bloom dynamics, in relation to other physical parameters such as nutrient availability, light, mixing, vertical migration dynamics of plankton, etc. By conducting this research, I hope to contribute to a deeper understanding of the role of microplastics in aquatic ecosystems and their potential transfer through the food chain.