Updated 1/12/2020: The episode is now live. Enjoy below!
Florida Sea Grant affiliate researcher, Ashley Smyth, will be featured this Saturday, January 9, on the CBS television show, Mission Unstoppable with Miranda Cosgrove! The program “celebrates women who have become superstars in STEM-related careers” and is geared to a K-12 audience.
On the show, Smyth, who is an assistant professor of biogeochemistry in the UF Department of Soil and Water Sciences at the UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center, talks about the value of oysters to coastal ecosystems, especially their role in improving water quality. She and correspondent Erica Hernandez watch oysters filter water, visit with an oyster farmer, and talk about what biogeochemists and marine biologists do.
“I want to show that marine biologists also study mud and oysters,” Smyth said. “I hope this gets young girls excited about being covered in mud and doing science — that they can do this too.”
Check local listings for showtimes. The episode, called Foragers, Filter Feeders and Phones, will also be posted on the program’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
