What is SCOPE? (or) Who stands for SCOPE? (or) What organization is SCOPE? (or) Could you tell me about SCOPE?

What is SCOPE? (or) Who stands for SCOPE? (or) What organization is SCOPE? (or) Could you tell me about SCOPE?

In the heart of academic research, the SCOPE program stands out as a beacon of scientific curiosity and education. This unique program, organised and planned by a dedicated team of volunteer graduate student coordinators, is on a mission to foster scientific curiosity, spread understanding of scientific practices, promote environmental stewardship, and provide graduate students with opportunities for scientific outreach.

One of the pioneering minds leading this mission is Kelli Mullane, whose start year with SCOPE is not specified. Another is Kasey Castello, who joined in 2025. Castello, who has previously lived in Japan for 2 and a half years and climbed Mt. Fuji, now studies humpback whales and their intricate songs. Her aim is to identify and track whale species in the open ocean with no human input.

Joining Castello is Anya Štajner, who started in 2022. Štajner, who was once a princess in high school, has a background in character acting, singing, sculpting balloons, and painting faces at parties. Today, she focuses her talents on Biological Oceanography, studying the tolerance of pteropods to the effects of climate change.

Anjali Narayanan is another member of the SCOPE team, having joined in 2022. Narayanan has travelled extensively, visiting four continents, eight countries, and over 10 states. Her favourite place she's visited so far is Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. In SCOPE, she studies phytoplankton in the Arctic and their response to climate change.

ShaNNON Dolan, a SCOPE coordinator since 2023, studies goose-beaked whales and their foraging behavior in deep-sea ecosystems. Before starting grad school, Dolan trekked over 500 kilometers to complete the Camino de Santiago in Spain.

Lastly, Danya Awshah, whose name means "near" in Arabic, studies pyrosomes, translucent floating organisms composed of hundreds of individuals, and their interactions with their ocean environment. Awshah joined SCOPE in 2025.

Past SCOPE coordinators include Lucinda Quigley, Hannah Adams, and Shailja Gangrade. For more information about the current SCOPE graduate student coordinators and their research fields, it is recommended to consult the official SCOPE program website, departmental announcements, or contact the program administration directly.

1. Science is meticulously explored within the SCOPE program, with a focus on stem education, nurturing the curiosity of graduate students like Kelli Mullane, Anjali Narayanan, ShaNNON Dolan, Anya Štajner, Kasey Castello, and Danya Awshah.
2. The pursuit of knowledge persists even outside the traditional classroom, as evidenced by SCOPE's online education platform, enabling learning for individuals regardless of their location or time zone.

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