From OSU News:

Kelly Benoit-Bird, a pioneering young oceanographer from Oregon State University, has been selected as one of 23 recipients nationwide of prestigious 2010 MacArthur Fellowships.

Popularly called “Genius Awards,” the fellowships include a $500,000 stipend to further the recipient’s scholarship. They are presented annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Benoit-Bird, 34, studies the interrelationships of animals in different marine environments, using acoustics and other sophisticated technologies. Her innovative uses of sonar in tracking marine creatures from Humboldt squid to spinner dolphins have led to new discoveries about their feeding behavior, movements and even communication….Benoit-Bird is the second Oregon State University marine scientist to have received a MacArthur award. In 1993, Jane Lubchenco, a professor of zoology and now NOAA Administrator, also was honored.

Along with oceanography, Oregon State offers programs in the areas of zoology, biology with a marine biology emphasis, fisheries and wildlife science, and such research facilities as the Hatfield Marine Science Center and the Marine Mammal Institute.

Congrats, Kelly!
-bv

The Port of Newport will host a groundbreaking ceremony for the NOAA Marine Operations Center from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Thursday, June 3, at the South Beach Pacific Homeport site just west of Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center.

Speakers at the groundbreaking are scheduled to include U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Oregon State University President Ed Ray. Also attending the ceremony will be representatives of Oregon’s coastal legislative caucus and other community leaders.

A community-wide celebration will be from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 6, at the site.

Supporting the Port of Newport in hosting both events are OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center, the Oregon Coast Aquarium, the Rotary Club of Newport, the city of Newport, JC Market and many local volunteers and donors.

In August of 2009, NOAA announced that Newport had been selected as the new site for its Pacific Marine Operations Center, choosing the central coastal community over three finalists in the state of Washington. Newport was chosen, in part, for its easy access to the ocean, funding support from the state Legislature and proximity of the Hatfield Marine Science Center and its large research enterprise.

Oregon State University, where Jane Lubchenko [SIC] is professor of marine biology and zoology and nominee to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is often ranked in the top four marine-science research centers, along with Woods Hole (M.I.T.), Scripps (California), and University of Washington.

Read the rest by clicking the link above…

Recognition in the mainstream of the excellence of these programs is long overdue. It’s nice to see the hard working/brilliant folks over at Marine Biology, Zoology, Fisheries and Wildlife and Oceanic & Atmospheric Sciences get some kudos.

For those of you wanting to be Marine Biologists or specialize in any other sort of life science, you’d have to be crazy to not be checking OSU out. Between the gorgeous setting, great faculty, undergraduate research opportunities and OSU’s leadership on sustainability issues, OSU is a great fit for students interested in the life sciences.

The R/V Wecoma is one of two research vessels based at the OSU HMSC

Until next time!

-jm

You might have read BV’s previous news posting on how President-elect Barack Obama selected Oregon State University Professor Dr. Jane Lubchenco today to chair the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This is big news. I’ve read many articles on Dr. Lubchenco – she’s a distinguished professor and one the world’s leading researchers in science. She teaches Marine Biology and Zoology courses and we’ve even had some previous postings about her here on the blog.

Dr. Lubchenco will be the the first woman to head the agency, and she is internationally known for her work on marine and coastal issues. Her new role will be leading government research on global warming and overseeing ocean and atmospheric research and the National Weather Service. She’s been here at Oregon State University since 1978.

Over the weekend, I spoke with current OSU Marine Biology student Megan Cook who works as a TOUR Student in the Visitor’s Center. Megan ecstatically told me “Obama for sure made a great pick! I have had some interaction with Jane in my program. She is a brilliant scientist and a very active and successful advocate for science’s role in the decision making of this country!”

Megan also referred me to Christine Lastovica — a recent OSU graduate who worked directly with Jane this past summer. Christine told me “Jane is such an amazing woman! The thing I liked most about Jane was that she had time for everyone (which kept her very busy!). It didn’t matter if you were the president of OSU or a student with a question, Jane treated everyone equally. What I admire most about her is her confidence. After a meeting with Jane I would walk away in awe. Her knowledge, enthusiasm, and energy for what she did was astounding. She deserves every award she has received and I am pleased to see her newest appointment- head of NOAA. I take pride knowing much of our countries decisions will be in her hands!”

Thanks to Megan and Christine for allowing me to put their comments here on the blog.

I’ve posted President-elect Obama’s announcement of his science team below. Watch for Dr. Lubchenco at mark 3:57:

Congratulations to Dr. Lubchenco! Please join me in wishing her much success in her new role!

–mko

Washington Post-

Lubchenco Will Helm National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

By Juliet Eilperin
President-elect Barack Obama has tapped Oregon State University professor Jane Lubchenco, one of the nation’s most prominent marine biologists, to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Lubchenco, a conservationist who has devoted much of her career to encouraging scientists to become more engaged in public policy debates, is also a vocal proponent of curbing greenhouse gases linked to global warming. The transition team could not be reached for comment, but several sources confirmed today that Lubchenco had been picked and was headed to Chicago for the upcoming announcement.

The appointment marks a shift for NOAA, which oversees marine issues as well as much of government’s climate work. Lubchenco has criticized the agency in the past for not doing enough to curb overfishing.

Andrew Rosenberg, who served as deputy director of NOAA’s Fisheries Service under Clinton and is now University of New Hampshire professor of natural resources and the environment, praised Lubchenco as an “absolutely world class scientist.”

“When has NOAA been headed by a member of the National Academy and a fellow of the Royal Society?” he said, referring to America and Britain’s most prestigious scientific societies. “That’s exactly the right signal. It establishes NOAA as one of those key scientific agencies.”

By selecting someone who’s both a respected researcher and an active player in national policy discussions, Rosenberg added, “it’s saying that science agencies have a role in policy. They need to be tightly connected, and I believe they will be tightly connected under Jane.”

Wayne and Gladys Valley Professor of Marine Biology Distinguished Professor of Zoology, Oregon State University

We have long marveled at the passion and conviction Dr. Lubchenco brings to her role at OSU and in bringing to light the effects of global warming. Her accolades have been well deserved, but she also is one of those professors that enjoys teaching and working alongside her students. Congratulations to you, Dr. Lubchenco!

One of the faces of OSU

From her bio:

Jane leads an interdisciplinary team of scientists who study the marine ecosystem off the west coast of the U.S. This PISCO team is learning how the ecosystem works, how it is changing and how humans can modify their actions to ensure continued benefit from ocean ecosystems.

Jane actively promotes science and communicates scientific knowledge in international and national arenas. She is Past-President of the International Council for Science and a former President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Ecological Society of America. She was a Presidential appointee to two terms on the National Science Board which advises the President and Congress and oversees the National Science Foundation. She often testifies before Congress, addresses the United Nations, or provides scientific advice to the White House, federal and international agencies, non-governmental organizations, religious leaders and leaders of business and industry. She co-chaired Oregon Governor Kulongoski’s Advisory Group on Global Warming that recommended actions the state should take to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

Jane founded the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program that teaches outstanding academic environmental scientists to be effective leaders and communicators of scientific information to the public, policy makers, the media and the private sector. She currently serves as Chair of the Advisory Board.

She participated actively in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), a 5-year, international scientific assessment of the consequences of environmental changes to human well-being. Among other things, she co-chaired the MA’s Synthesis for Business and Industry.

Jane is a Founding Principal of COMPASS, the Communication Partnership for Science and the Sea, a collaboration among academic scientists, communication and media specialists that communicates academic marine conservation science to policy makers, the media, managers and the public.

Her scientific contributions in ecology are widely recognized. 8 of her publications are “Science Citation Classics”; she is one of the “most highly cited” ecologists in the world (top 0.5%). She is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the Royal Society, and the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World.

She served on the Pew Oceans Commission and now the Joint Oceans Commission Initiative (a merger of the Pew Oceans Commission and the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy). She is a Director or Trustee of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, SeaWeb and Environmental Defense; Trustee Emerita of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and a former Trustee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences’ Beijer International Institute for Ecological Economics and the World Resources Institute.

Jane has received numerous awards including a MacArthur (“genius”) Fellowship, a Pew Fellowship, eight honorary degrees (including one from Princeton University), the 2002 Heinz Award in the Environment, the 2003 Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest, the 2004 Environmental Law Institute Award (the first scientist to receive this honor) and the 2005 American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology.

Pretty impressive!
-bv