

Vembu Subramanian lived a life dedicated to uplifting others. While hired at SECOORA for his technical skill, Vembu’s true strength was his interpersonal skill, as reflected by his unofficial job title – Social Chairman.
If you had the chance to meet him, you will have been touched by his sincerity, his ethics, as well as his laughter and genuine kindness. Vembu had a deep passion to help others and loved working with students, acting as their mentor.
Past Vembu Subramanian Ocean Scholars
Congratulations to the past SECOORA Vembu Subramanian Ocean Scholar Award winners.

2020 Scholar
Julie Vecchio, PhD,
University of South Florida College of Marine Science
“Winning the Vembu Subramanian Ocean Scholars Award is a fantastic honor. I had the pleasure of knowing Vembu and look forward to continuing my work in his spirit of kindness, generosity, and community!”

2019 Scholar
Kelsey Johnson-Sapp
University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science
“As a steward of the marine environment, I strive to promote the intersection of research and science communication to galvanize public awareness on these issues and champion marine conservation. Support like the Vembu Subramanian Scholarship will provide me with a crucial platform to widely disseminate my findings on coral reef interventions that will further both the field of coral ecology and my mission to inspire meaningful change.”

2018 Scholar
Laura McGee
North Carolina State University
“The Vembu Subramanian Ocean Scholars Award will give me the opportunity to network with the ocean science community to build collaborations and will allow me to widely distribute my research results. This research will use cutting-edge data analysis techniques to better understand the role that tropical cyclones play in air-sea CO2 flux.”