Rahd Youakim is only in his second year studying Marine Science at Griffith University but he already has big dreams about how he’s going to save the planet.
Those aspirations are already getting noticed, with Rhad receiving a Young Scientist Encouragement Award offered by ATA Scientific, a scientific instrument company.
The topic of their latest competition, which is normally reserved for post-graduate students, was focused on climate change and how we can develop innovations to minimise the negative effects.
Rahd is an active conservationist who is majoring in Coastal Physical Sciences. His career goal is to be one of the leading figures in Australia for sustainable fishing aquaculture practices.
Rahd plans to establish his own research groups, one in each state along the east coast of Australia exploring different temporal environments and maximising the yield production for each zone with minimal to zero impact.
“A big dream, yes I know! But my mum once told me that we are always destined to be the best person we can be and showed me the way to inner-happiness is to give more than you take,” Rahd said.
“All I want ultimately is the world’s oceans to be as healthy as they were 200 years ago. When all this comes together in the next 20 years I hope to use mine and others’ expertise to restock the oceans with species that are on the brink of extinction”.
Rahd plans to use his award to contribute to his tuition costs which will assist with achieving his career goals and implementing his ideas in the future. He plans to purchase an aquaculture/aquaponics system which will consist of severalfish tank with filters and heaters.
With the skills and knowledge gained from his studies, he would like to conduct his own experiments so that he can one day present his findings for every type of environment and implement these to ensure the best sustainable practices.
To find out more about studying Marine Science visit here.