A UMES researcher and students from underrepresented minorities in STEM who are majoring in natural sciences will be tackling one of the U.S. Navy’s most costly problems –biofilm formation, or fouling.  Biofilms, which lead to attachment of barnacles, cause millions of dollars of damage to naval ships and platforms each year and contribute to ecological changes with the potential to cause fish mortality and algal blooms.

The U.S. Navy has awarded Dr. Victoria Volkis, a professor of chemistry and director of UMES’ Master of Science Program, $1 million to study the use of natural plants for antifouling protection, under the “Sea platform environmental quality, corrosion control and advanced naval materials” field of interest.  Not only will she serve as the principal investigator of a U.S. Navy Minority Serving Institution Program grant, she will also devote all of her academic time to the project as the recipient of a Distinguished Faculty Fellow award for the next three years.  

 

What tastes like shrimp or seafood?  It might have a “citrusy flavor” or be “oily and salty like popcorn.”  Could be crunchy like a “Frito or chip” or “smushy like pudding.”  They come in all shapes and sizes and if you guessed edible insects, a world food protein source on the rise, you guessed correctly.

“Five years ago I was deathly afraid of insects, so I went from running from them, to chasing them, to eating them—now that’s revenge!,” said Ebony Jenkins (above), a food and agricultural sciences doctoral student at UMES.

Jenkins is a budding entomophagist.  No, it’s not misspelled.  The field is not entomology, more commonly known, it’s entomophagy—the study of rearing insects for human consumption, feed and biological controls.  She and her research advisor and mentor, Dr. Simon Zebelo, an associate professor of entomology and plant biology, tout cicadas, crickets and mealworms among others as a safe, economical and nutritious source of protein. 

Their thoughts and research have gained national attention.  The Public Broadcasting System’s premiere science series, NOVA, featured Jenkins on its Season 48, Episode 14 “Edible Insects,” which aired for the first time on Wednesday, October 20.

“I didn’t know it was showing, I just ran across it,” Jenkins said.  “I couldn’t believe it! I have watched it 10 times since airing.  I’m still in shock and grateful for the opportunity. They could have chosen anyone, but they choose me.”

Jenkins weighed in on the documentary on her work focusing on improving insects as a source of nutrition and modifying what they eat.

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