• Michelle Morris, a local teacher, has received a University of California Alumni “Change the World” scholarship from UC San Diego Extension. Morris will use the award to pursue a certificate in art with the goal of becoming an expressive arts therapist at an elementary school. • Four scientists at Scripps Institute of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego have been honored for their work in exploring biological aspects of the oceans. Octavio Aburto-Oropeza, of Scripps’ Marine Biology Research Division (MBRD) and Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation (CMBC), has been selected to receive a Kathryn Fuller Fellowship by the World Wildlife Fund. He was the sole winner in the world-wide competition of nearly 100 applicants, and the fellowship will support his research relating to the ecological and economic importance of marine reserves in the Gulf of California. Francesca Malfatti, also a researcher at the Scripps MBRD, has been selected to receive the International Recognition of Professional Excellence Prize by the International ecology Institute. The $3,880 prize was awarded in August in Oldendorf, Germany and is meant to honor an ecologist under the age of 40 who has published “uniquely independent, original and/or challenging research representing an important scientific breakthrough.” The Botanical Society of America has awarded Brian Palenik, a Scripps MBRD professor of marine biology, the 2010 Darbaker Prize for meritorious work in the study of microscopic algae. Michael Tillman, a research associate in Scripps CMBC, has been selected as a member of the Marine Mammal Commission. The appointment to the three-members commission was made by U.S. President Barack Obama, and is charged with the protection and conservation of marine mammals and the maintenance of the health and stability of the ecosystems upon which they depend. Tillman’s previous accomplishments include working under the appointment of former U.S. President Bill Clinton as deputy U.S. commissioner to the International Whaling Commission and as U.S. commissioner to the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission.