UB PhD student Kahad Adamu is the recipient of a 2025 New York Sea Grant John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship.

The Knauss fellowship provides early career professionals with opportunities to apply their skills and experiences in coastal science, law and policy to address key issues in marine and Great Lakes sustainable use and conservation.

As an executive fellow, Adamu, who is working on his doctorate in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, has been placed with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, and at the National Sea Grant Office in Silver Spring, Maryland.

His academic interests have taken him to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where he worked with community groups to develop a sustainable financial model to support a community-led sanitation project. He has also worked on land rights document projects in Ghana, which sought to enlighten the customary land rights holders on the ways to secure their land rights.

Adamu says he would like to devote his energies to water resource conservation, governance and sustainability. In particular, he would like to address water-related issues that have been brought about by human choices.

“My work focuses on streamlining policy processes and overcoming institutional barriers to improve watershed governance and planning in the United States and Global South,” Adamu says. “I collaborate closely with local communities and organizations to ensure that their needs align with policy goals and outcomes.”

Becky Shuford, director of the New York Sea Grant, notes that Adamu and the other fellowship recipients “are poised to bring their expertise and skills to bear across diverse coastal and marine domains and industries — from transportation to energy, to coastal community-based science and outreach, to informing the development of policy and legislation.”

“They are sure to make a transformational impact,” she says.

Over the past 45 years, the Knauss fellowship has supported more than 1,660 students who have significantly contributed to environmental policy and management and built lasting careers.