The Barometer Online

Issue date: 1/15/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Contributed Photo Steven Strauss, a professor in Forest Ecosystems and Society, researches poplar trees in the field. Strauss and Geosciences professor Dawn Wright were recently recognized by the AAAC

Professors Steven Strauss and Dawn Wright have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Both professors were nominated based on their contributions to their fields of research and are being honored for the impact their work has made in the scientific world.

The AAAS is, according to their official website, "an international non-profit organization dedicated to advancing science around the world by serving as an educator, leader, spokesperson and professional association."

They are the world's largest general scientific society, and sponsor programs that "raise the bar of understanding for science worldwide."

Dawn Wright, an OSU professor of geography and oceanography since 1995, specializes in ocean informatics and marine and coastal geography.

Wright is also a member of the Ocean Studies Board of the National Academies. For many years, Wright has been working on ways to improve data and maps from the ocean floor.

"I've been working on ways to improve how data and maps from the ocean, especially the ocean floor, can be structured, organized, managed and used [in] many different kinds of analyses so that we can better understand how the ocean works," Wright said. "This is essentially what marine geographic information science is."

Wright is also a leader in the scientific world in the field of ocean informatics, a fairly new field that integrates computer science, information technology, and the generation of scientific knowledge.

"Informatics in general is the science of information processing and the development and use of information systems, including geographic information systems," Wright said. "It kind of bridges the gap between pure, hard-core computer science and basic science."

Steven Strauss, a professor of forest biotechnology, is being recognized for his contributions to genetics and evolution, as well as his interdisciplinary work in the field of biotechnology.

Strauss has been a professor at OSU for over 23 years, and during this time has focused not only on the scientific aspect of forest biotechnology, but has also dedicated a significant part of his career to promoting public awareness of biotechnology issues.

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