The Barometer Online

Issue date: 1/12/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Oregon State University Oregon State University Zoology professor Jane Lubchenco has been nominated for a leadership position in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Professor Jane Lubchenco from the zoology department at OSU was recently nominated by President-elect Barack Obama to be the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"As an internationally-known environmental scientist, ecologist and former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, [she] has advised the president and Congress on scientific matters, and I am confident she will provide passionate and dedicated leadership to NOAA," Obama said during the weekly Democratic radio address.

Lubchenco will be the first woman to head the NOAA, which conducts the nation's study of oceans, weather and global warming issues.

Her selection suggests that the President-elect's administration sees scientists playing direct roles in the development of any further policies on key environmental issues.

Lubchenco has become a distinguished professor of zoology at Oregon State, where she has been teaching for 30 years. She received her doctorate from Harvard University before that.

Her expertise includes various interactions between humans and the environment including biodiversity, climate change, sustainability science, ecosystem services, marine reserves and coastal marine ecosystems.

"Jane is an ideal pick. It has been great for Oregon State to have her here," John Byrne, former OSU president told Oregon Live. He also served as an administrator for NOAA during the Reagan administration.

"Jane has given me thoughtful insight, helpful comments and much-needed direction as I develop my thesis," said graduate student Alison Iles.

Lubchenco's current research involves the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO) that was started in 1999. The goal of PISCO was to investigate near-shore marine ecosystems of the West Coast in the United States.

Scientists at PISCO are documenting the patterns of the abundance of marine organisms and are beginning to uncover their main causes. They are also identifying specific links between various systems that determine ecological patterns. One of the major findings from PISCO is the ascoastal hypoxia on the coast of Oregon.

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