1998 Global Fellows

Gil Rilov (Israel) rilovg@science.oregonstate.edu

Gil is a Ph.D. student in marine ecology at Tel-Aviv University who has studied methods of mitigating damage to coral reefs in the Red Sea, the effects of tributylin (TBT) pollution from anti-fouling paints on benthic organisms in the rocky intertidal, the effects of an invasive mussel, and a characterization of marine benthic communities in a new established marine reserve.  He has also given short-courses to ecotourists, the Israeli Navy and NGOs on marine ecology and reefs.  He was particularly attracted by the interdisciplinary nature of the DUML course and wants to become more involved in policy making.

Eka Rukhadze (Republic of Georgia) rukhadze@geo.net.ge
Eka holds an M.S. degree in Zoology from Tbilisi State University.  She conducts her research in neurobiology and behavior at TSU.  She wants to conduct research on three species of marine mammals in the Black Sea where they are sharply decreasing.  She is currently leading a government/NGO cooperative effort to publish a brochure "How to preserve mammals in the Black Sea" to raise people's awareness of the problems.  She leads an NGO, "Association for the Protection of the Black Sea", which was founded in 1990 "to protect the human and natural environment within the Black Sea basin of Georgia, including protection of coastal forests, investigation of demographic problems and environmental awareness activities."

Collins Jambo  (Malawi)

Collins is a fisheries ecologist in the Malawi Fisheries Department where he is developing his country's strategy for the upcoming Rio de Janeiro "Agenda 21 Environmental Capacity" program.  His activities include fish resource conservation, improvement of degraded aquatic environments and monitoring of pollution levels.  He holds an M.Sc. in Fisheries Science from Rhodes University  where he conducted research on the ecology and reproductive biology of three Lake Malawi cichlids.  The study considered the possible effects of a sanctuary to reduce fishing effort.

Rafael Sperb (Brazil) rsperb@univali.br

Rafael is a Ph.D. student in the field of Applied Intelligence at the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil.  He also holds an M.S. in Environmental Science and Technology and a B.S. in Biological Oceanography.  He is interested in applications of computer technology to coastal zone management and has developed training software for the Train-Sea-Coast Program for United Nations -DEALOS.   This program provides a simulation of socio-economic considerations to coastal management and introduces such concepts as Integrated Coastal Zone Management.  Rafael also works as a volunteer in monitoring and environmental education for the Arvoredo Island Biological Marine Reserve; he is an avid scuba diver.