Biology Ph.D. candidate Ellen Jacobs Honored as 2023-24 ARCS Scholar! 

Last month, the Metropolitan Washington Chapter (MWC) of the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation named Ellen Jacobs, a Ph.D. candidate in the Mann Lab, the 2023-24 MWC ARCS Scholar! The $15,000 scholarship funds her research into the behavior of bottlenose dolphins alongside Dr. Janet Mann, a world-renowned expert in marine mammal behavior and biology. Since beginning her Ph.D. at Georgetown in 2019, Jacobs has gained a strong reputation for her scientific ability, creative research style, and leadership. In her research, Jacobs studies how the use of sponging tools affects the echolocation patterns of bottlenose dolphins, who use the tools to forage for fish hiding on the seafloor. With her ARCS Award, Jacobs travelled to Shark Bay, Australia, where she worked with researchers from Curtin University to collect acoustic data and sponge samples for further analysis. The Department of Biology is excited to see how Ellen’s research progresses and congratulates her on this incredible achievement! To read more, visit the story from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.