Channing Bolt

How many people do you know who have spent months cruising around the Artic Sea on a Siberian icebreaker? Likely no one until you have met SMART Scholar Channing Bolt. Channing is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in trace metal chemistry within the Arctic Ocean Environment Program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical oceanography from Humboldt State University. Channing was inspired to pursue the SMART Scholarship-for-Service Program and her Ph.D. after an internship at the Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific during her undergraduate studies. Channing’s mentor, Dr. Ignacio Rivera-Duarte, works in a trace metal chemistry lab and is credited for encouraging her to pursue her education. Channing commented, “I had so much fun working in a Navy trace metal chemistry lab and learned a lot under the mentorship of Dr. Rivera-Duarte. Working with the environmental group at NWIC Pacific and understanding how my niche field could contribute to the Navy, paved my career path and is why I chose to pursue a doctoral degree and career in trace metal chemistry.” Channing is motivated by her ability to fulfill her civic-duty and the broad applications that her research encompasses. She notes, “Very little is known about the global oceans, especially the Arctic Ocean, and utilizing chemistry to better address these gaps in knowledge makes me feel like the research I am doing is meaningful. Additionally, trace metal chemistry is challenging because you are measuring small concentrations that are difficult to quantify. I like the challenge of producing high quality data and working with a wide variety of instrumentation that data analysis within the field of chemical oceanography utilizes.”