\u201cWe\u2019d go seining in the creeks,\u201d he says, recalling the excitement of catching minnows and later, spending hours on the water fishing for bluegill, drum and flounder.<\/p>\n
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New Bern’s river systems sparked Fear’s career in science. File photo.<\/p><\/div>\n
Those early experiences made him aware of broader ecosystems, such as the rivers in his hometown. \u201cI personally noticed changes in the Trent and the Neuse,\u201d Fear notes. \u201cEven as a kid, I wanted to know what was driving the change.\u201d<\/p>\n
He fueled that curiosity over the years through academic studies, field research, resource management and research administration. And he still enjoys tossing a lure or otherwise spending the day on the water \u2014 now with his wife, Holly and their twins, Will and Leigh.<\/p>\n
Fear is as comfortable in the Research Triangle region as he is on the coast. For the past year, he has been deputy director of North Carolina Sea Grant<\/a> and the Water Resources Research Institute of the University of North Carolina System<\/a>. With his office at NC State University in Raleigh, Fear\u2019s Sea Grant duties are coastwide. His statewide WRRI focus includes watersheds from the mountains to the sea.<\/p>\n Research lead for both Sea Grant and WRRI, Fear recalls that his own research experience started with an undergraduate oceanography class at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill<\/a> taught by Marc Alperin. An after-class chat resulted in Fear taking a student research position in Alperin\u2019s lab, running tests on rain samples from projects at the UNC-CH Institute of Marine Sciences<\/a>, or IMS, in Morehead City.<\/p>\n \u201cHe gave me my first opportunity to work in a lab,\u201d Fear notes. That experience not only helped to develop an attention to detail, but also to reveal the complexities of how a research team must work together, despite varying locations and roles.<\/p>\n After getting his bachelor\u2019s degree, Fear headed east again, to be a summer technician on water quality, and Fear joined the lab.<\/p>\n For his graduate work, Fear was back on the Neuse. His project involved looking at the sediment water column fluxes of oxygen and nutrients from where N.C. 43 crosses the river to the ferry landings at Cherry Branch and Minnesott Beach.<\/p>\n The dynamics of the coastal waters are triggered by flows of oxygen and nitrogen\u00a0\u2014 key factors in the system\u2019s overall nutrient budget. \u201cFreshwater influences are paramount to the estuarine ecosystem,\u201d Fear notes, adding that his first presentation of his research was at an annual conference for WRRI in Raleigh.<\/p>\n \u201cJohn asked the right questions at the right time. One of the real holes we had was the role of groundwater and sediments in the Neuse system,\u201d Paerl recalls.<\/p>\n Fear developed his own core sampling tools. Photo courtesy IMS.<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cHe constructed groundwater-measuring devices\u00a0\u2014 his own coring samplers\u00a0\u2014 that he ended up deploying into the estuary. He was a bargain as a graduate student,\u201d Paerl recalls, noting Fear was comfortable running a boat and often took out other students needing samples or training.<\/p>\n Fear\u2019s research results provided insight into the nutrient budget in the Neuse River estuary. \u201cI was looking at where the nitrogen was going. The data set continues to serve as a baseline to compare to what is going on now,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n At the time, Paerl\u2019s lab was among the first to use membrane inlet mass spectrometry, known as MIMS, that was developed by faculty at the University of Maryland\u2019s laboratory at Horn Point. Fear helped build and maintain the IMS MIMS equipment, tools that now are considered mainstream coastal science. \u201cIt is fulfilling to know that I was on the ground floor,\u201d Fear says.<\/p>\n He also was part of the FerryMon team, which had started as a way to measure the impacts of historic flooding from Hurricane Floyd in 1999. Sea Grant was among agencies that provided rapid-response funding for the pilot project by Paerl and Joe Ramus of Duke University to use N.C. Department of Transportation<\/a> ferries as \u201cships of opportunity\u201d to gather water quality samples during the crossings multiple times daily.<\/p>\n \u201cFerryMon filled a huge data gap in the monitoring data in the Pamlico Sound\u00a0\u2014 and it still is doing that,\u201d Fear notes.<\/p>\n In addition to his research and technical skills, Fear built upon his ability to cut to the chase when communicating big-picture topics to persons outside marine science.<\/p>\n Each summer, the university\u2019s main campus would offer a bus tour to acquaint new faculty with the state as a whole. Fear was tasked to explain the benefits of IMS research to experts from many other disciplines. \u201cThat outreach was very fulfilling,\u201d he recalls. \u201cAnd it was very beneficial for what I would do later.\u201d<\/p>\n During his graduate years and as a postdoc in Rachel Nobel\u2019s laboratory at IMS, Fear also mentored summer interns and worked with undergraduates in a semester-long environmental studies field site. He enjoyed paying forward the benefits of his own early opportunities. \u201cTeaching the next generation was engrained in me,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n But encouraging students does not mean coddling them, he adds. \u201cThey need to do the work themselves and learn their own lessons.\u201d<\/p>\n Fear knew that he would thrive with a \u201cmore applied focus\u201d rather than in a traditional academic position. He was drawn to the N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve<\/a>, with its focus on monitoring and applied research used directly by state and federal resource managers. The Reserve program is part of the N.C. Division of Coastal Management<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the Reserve sites are living laboratories,\u201d notes Fear, who served nine years as program research coordinator. \u201cMiddle Marsh, in Back Sound, Carteret County, is one the most heavily studied areas because of the plethora of habitats that co-exist there.\u201d<\/p>\n His duties included approving requests for research to be done in the 10 Reserve locations. Researchers came from across the state and beyond. Many traveled to the sites, while others requested samples for comparisons.<\/p>\n Fear first met Susan White<\/a>, now executive director for North Carolina\u2019s Sea Grant and WRRI programs, when she was the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s<\/a> liaison for the Reserve program in North Carolina. During a multi-year program review, she quickly learned that Fear was focused on the science and its application. \u201cWhen he takes on a task, the job will get done,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Later White was research director for the National Estuarine Research Reserve system. \u201cNorth Carolina always had a strong science portfolio in the network,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Fear’s research duties at the N.C. Coastal Reserve included working with a North Carolina Sea Grant fellow. Photo courtesy IMS.<\/p><\/div>\n Fear sought, received and partnered on varied research projects that included partners at the NOAA laboratories and programs in the Carolinas. Many projects related to various aspects of the state\u2019s Coastal Habitat Protection Plan. In particular, several focused on shoreline stabilization. He also was a valued advisor, serving on panels for North Carolina Sea Grant and the U.S. Marine Corps Base at Camp Lejeune, among others.<\/p>\n Reserve Manager Rebecca Ellin notes that Fear is passionate about coastal resources, yet also is very practical. \u201cHe is able to balance the big picture and all the details,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n His attention to detail serves him well on many fronts, she adds. \u201cHis demonstrated success in producing quality science and administering research projects, in combination with his interest in administration, naturally led to him successfully take on some program administration duties while at the Reserve.\u201d<\/p>\n A few years back, Fear scheduled a meeting with partners at North Carolina Sea Grant to discuss potential collaborations. The resulting graduate student fellowship is run jointly\u00a0\u2014 and considered a great success\u00a0\u2014 by the two programs. \u201cStudent research provides a tremendous return on investment,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n From an initial student for a single semester in 2010, the fellowship has grown to a highly competitive program that now provides larger projects for two students each year. See page 28 for more on Margaret Garner\u2019s research, the 2013 joint fellow.<\/p>\n \u201cNot many jobs could have lured me away from the Reserve,\u201d Fear says. But when North Carolina Sea Grant and WRRI were seeking a deputy director in 2013, he saw the new position as a logical next step. \u201cIt would allow me to have a bigger impact on the field than what I could accomplish through my work with the Reserve.\u201d<\/p>\n Fear works with Executive Director Susan White on Sea Grant and WRRI topics. Photo by Rhett Register.<\/p><\/div>\n It also would bring him back to a university setting. He already is serving on a graduate committee for Shannon Brown, an NC State master\u2019s student, who earned the joint fellowship in 2014.<\/p>\n White sees Fear as a great fit in terms of his own scientific expertise, administrative experience, and extensive networks within the state and beyond. \u201cHe has built trust with so many partners,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n Paerl agrees. \u201cIt has been really good to keep John in the state. He has a great appreciation for how these systems work. And he can pull people into projects by identifying those who can fill certain niches.\u201d<\/p>\n Fear\u2019s first year included major symposiums for Sea Grant and WRRI, along with evaluations of the programs\u2019 processes and impacts to prepare materials for state and federal reviews. Again, woven throughout was a focus on students.<\/p>\n The Sea Grant federal review panel\u2019s report from September 2014 cited a strong program overall\u00a0\u2014 and included a recommendation that North Carolina\u2019s student fellowship program be considered a \u201cbest management practice\u201d as a model for the entire Sea Grant network.<\/p>\n Fear also sees the value and flexibility of minigrants to provide proof-of-concept research. \u201cMany are student-initiated,\u201d he explains. In the past year, requests also have come from businesses and faculty new to North Carolina.<\/p>\n He continues to be a trusted advisor, including continuing his role on NOAA\u2019s N.C. Sentinel Site Cooperative<\/a> steering committee. \u201cThis has facilitated the NCSSC receiving funding for a part-time coordinator through Sea Grant,\u201d Ellin notes. \u201cI anticipate that our partnership with Sea Grant will continue to strengthen, especially as both organizations update their strategic plans in the coming years and identify complementary opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to leading the WRRI research program that receives federal funding from the U.S. Geological Survey<\/a>, Fear already is working with the federal agency\u2019s North Carolina offices to look for new collaboration opportunities.<\/p>\n White also notes that Fear is increasing the synergy among research, extension and communications efforts of Sea Grant and WRRI.<\/p>\n She laughs when she hears that some may characterize Fear as quiet. She would rather describe him as a good listener. \u201cI think he is thoughtful\u00a0\u00a0\u2014 then he tells it like it is,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n What is on the horizon?<\/p>\n \u201cI want to continue to enhance student support,\u201d Fear says, citing potential for fellowships to highlight emerging interdisciplinary topics, or with new partners, such as the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership<\/a> that has funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency<\/a>.<\/p>\n He also will run his first call for Sea Grant\u2019s two-year core research proposals. \u201cWe will be seeking a wide range of relevant and innovative projects,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Overall, White appreciates the energy and fresh perspective Fear provides. \u201cWhen he brings suggestions to improve a program, you know that they will be efficient, effective and engaging.\u201d<\/p>\n This article was published in the Winter 2015<\/a> issue of Coastwatch.<\/em><\/p>\n For contact information and reprint requests, visit ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/contact\/<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By KATIE MOSHER John Fear may have been born in Raleigh, but it was his youth in New Bern that set him on a career path as a scientist. \u201cWe\u2019d go seining in the creeks,\u201d…<\/p>\n\u2022 FLOW FACTORS<\/h3>\n
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<\/a>\u2022 APPLYING SCIENCE<\/h3>\n
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\u2022 NEW CHALLENGES BECKON<\/h3>\n
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