12 Questions: Matt Lettrich

Executive Fellow with NOAA's National Ocean Service
Estuarine Reserves Division 
  

1. Where were you before beginning Knauss, and what were you doing there?
Before the fellowship, I was at the University of North Carolina Wilmington working toward my M.S. in Marine Science.  I studied nutrient transport and denitrification in salt marshes, trying to gauge their effect on surrounding estuaries.  I was also working at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher as an instructor.

2. What drew you to the position you chose?
I loved spending time in two of the Reserve components when I lived in North Carolina so I've always had an interest in the NERRS (National Estuarine Research Reserve System).  The position I am in deals with coastal resilience and adaptation, which I believe to be incredibly important topics.

3. How will you use your background in your new office?

Matt taking photos in the saltmarsh

Having spent many waking hours doing research in estuaries, I am familiar with the issues and concerns associated with them. 
My education background will help me communicate these issues.

4. What has been the biggest change for you since starting the fellowship?
Being inside for so long.  For the past few years from the end of February to the end of November I would be spending 4-6 hours of each day working outside.  The fluorescent glow just isn't the same!

5. What have you found to be your most essential piece of 'work attire'?
A pair of khakis.

Wrightsville Beach is just east of Wilmington, NC.

6. Where is your favorite spot on Earth?
There are a lot of places that are high on my list, but my favorite is the south end of Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina.

7. What's at the top of your recommended reading list for someone wanting to explore a career in your field?
E.O. Wilson's The Future of Life.  Also, works involving case studies that inspire critical thinking, such as Malcom Gladwell's The Tipping Point.

 
8. Personal favorite book? 
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

9. What are your hobbies?
I enjoy photography and woodworking.  Whenever I make it back to the coast I like to surf, paddleboard, and skin dive.

10. What would you be doing if you hadn't gone into your field?
Either an architect or engineer.

11. Who is your favorite historical scientist and why?
I would say James Lovelock as an inventor and a scientist.  He made some important discoveries about our effects on the environment and made an attempt to explain the interconnectedness of systems within our planet

12. Any idea what you're doing next year?
Not yet!