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Clayton Nyiri ’25 is a 91ֱ����Ƶstudent majoring in marine biology and neuroscience. He was originally drawn to 91ֱ����Ƶby the Arthur P. Girard Marine Science Center (MSC) and the shark lab. “It was nice having the MSC five minutes away from the main campus...I was also able to tour the MSC to speak to John Mohan and to the members of the shark lab. At the time, I fell in love with the place where I could do research.”

Research has been a huge part of Clayton’s education so far. In high school, he attended a four-year program where he would learn about and research ecology, aquaculture, and advanced biology. As a senior in high school, Clayton also took two college courses and submitted an independent research project based on this to a competition. “I did mine on the behavior of smooth hound dogfish. I learned a lot and I think that experience was really helpful.”

This summer (2022) Clayton is taking part in the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) program. He’s working on developing more effective shark bycatch reduction devices. These devices send out pulses to defer sharks and spiny dogfish from being caught. The goal of the research is to not only reduce bycatch but also reduce the financial burden bycatch causes local fishermen. Researchers themselves and the donors that make the research possible are working to solve this huge issue around the world. 

Clayton’s 91ֱ����Ƶexperience has been enriched greatly by the SURE program. He says, “I think this is a great opportunity. My favorite part is that I’m not only working in the field but I’m also researching and analyzing in the lab. I get a huge variety of skills.” Leading this research project also allowed him to develop his organizational and leadership skills. 

After UNE, Clayton plans on going to graduate school and pursuing several shark behavioral research projects. “I really want to be diverse in the kind of research that I’m participating in.” He already has begun working towards this goal at UNE. He and a few other students worked to deploy Maine’s first real-time shark detection buoy. Research like this draws students like Clayton to 91ֱ����Ƶfrom the beginning. Continuing these projects throughout their time at 91ֱ����Ƶallows them to have ample time to prepare for their future careers.