Newswise — With the one-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill approaching, Florida Atlantic University faculty members are available to discuss the state of the Gulf and the effects of the oil spill.
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute:
• Ed Proffitt, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the department of biological sciences in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, and is located at Harbor Branch. Proffitt is assessing the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on oyster reefs and associated species in Florida Gulf estuaries. His areas of expertise lies in oil spill and restoration research in coastal (saline and brackish) marshes in Louisiana, as well as studies on how the Tampa Bay oil spill affected mangroves in the early 1990s.
• Greg O’Corry-Crowe, Ph.D., is an associate research professor at Harbor Branch. He is a molecular biologist who has worked on oil spills in the Arctic and Alaska. O’Corry-Crow’s main interests are in investigating interactions between marine mammals, apex predators and their environment, and the application of research findings to the conservation and management of these species.
• Steve McCulloch is the program manager and rescue supervisor of the Marine Mammal Research and Conservation program at Harbor Branch. He helped create and continues to conduct ongoing photo-ID field research surveys that cover 40 percent of Florida’s east coast, and also developed a stranding response and rehabilitation capability to care for sick and injured marine mammals. McCulloch has responded to more than 200 stranding events in Florida, the Gulf of Mexico and South Carolina. His research interests are in population ecology, marine mammal health, rehabilitation, release and telemetry, and advancement of research technologies and education.
• Tamara Frank, Ph.D., is an associate research professor at Harbor Branch. Her research is on zooplankton ecology, visual ecology and deep-sea ecosystems, including those in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Shirley A. Pomponi, Ph.D., is a research professor and executive director of the Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research, and Technology. In the summer of 2010, Pomponi led a month-long expedition to the West Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico to assess the state of the deep reefs due to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill along Florida’s Gulf coast. Her expertise (relevant to oil-spill impact assessment) is in marine biology and biotechnology, with specific emphasis on sponge communities in both deep and shallow water.
• Susan Laramore, Ph.D., is an assistant research professor at Harbor Branch. Laramore is examining the impact of crude oil and the oil dispersant Corexit from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on three Gulf of Mexico economically important shellfish species. Her research interests are aquatic animal health issues, including biosecurity and disease prevention. She also works on aquatic diseases of aquacultured species, with an emphasis on viral diseases of crustaceans and parasitic diseases of bivalves.
• Peter McCarthy, Ph.D., is a research professor specializing in marine microbiology at Harbor Branch. McCarthy is collaborating in the assessment of the impact of oil contamination of sponge species from western Gulf waters by using advanced genomic and molecular tools to compare those sponges to specimens collected prior to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. McCarthy’s research interests include screening for novel antimicrobial agents from marine invertebrates and microbes, and finding biotechnological applications for microbial products.
• Brian Lapointe, Ph.D., is a research professor at Harbor Branch, whose expertise includes the areas of nutrient pollution and coral reef ecology.
• Sara Edge, Ph.D., is an assistant research faculty member at Harbor Branch. Edge has used molecular biology tools to understand the effects oil and oil dispersants have on corals from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Her expertise is in the field of ecological genomics of Scleractinian corals, and focuses on the development and implementation of tools from the field of molecular biology to address coral health and diagnostics. Edge’s research focuses on how molecular processes govern the interactions between different species and guide an organism’s response to its environment. Edge is currently in the process of setting up an Ecological Genomics lab as part of the ecosystem health program and has identified several genes indicative of coral health, and developed the first stress-focused microarray used in coral diagnostic studies.
• Joshua Voss, Ph.D., is an assistant research professor in the Marine Ecosystem Health program at Harbor Branch. Voss has been studying the effects that temperature, salinity, and other stressors have on the development and spread of coral diseases from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. His research focuses on coral reef ecology and coral health, including emerging disease, natural and anthropogenic stressors, and integration of molecular and field techniques.
• Dr. Juli Goldstein, DVM, is an assistant research professor at Harbor Branch, as well as a marine mammal veterinarian.
• Paul Wills, Ph.D., is an associate research professor at Harbor Branch, whose area of expertise is aquaculture of finfish for food and stock enhancement.
• Fraser Dalgleish is an assistant research professor at Harbor Branch in the ocean engineering and technology program. His specialties are in underwater laser imaging and communications, optical properties in marine environments, sensor networks and fluorescence imaging. Dalgleish studies and develops optics and imaging systems to characterize the undersea environment and advance communications.
• Lee Frey is a research associate at Harbor Branch in the ocean engineering and technology program. His expertise is in underwater vehicles, robotics, oceanographic instrumentation, optical sensors, control and data acquisition systems, and at-sea operations. Frey develops sensors and sensing systems to collect data on water quality and marine species.
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters:
• Patricia Widener, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of sociology. Her primary research is on environmental justice and how communities, environmental organizations and/or transnational advocates respond to petroleum projects and oil spills.
College of Engineering and Computer Science:
• Fred Bloetscher, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in FAU’s department of civil, environmental, and geomatics engineering. His research areas include water quality changes in coastal marine waters, groundwater injection programs, and occurrence and treatment of pharmaceutically active chemicals in water. Bloetscher can be reached at 561-297-0744 (office) or [email protected]
• Daniel Meeroff, Ph.D., is an associate professor in FAU’s department of civil, environmental, and geomatics engineering. His research areas include water/waste-water treatment processes, water chemistry, environmental microbiology, natural detoxification mechanisms and hazardous waste treatment. Meeroff can be reached at 561-297-3099 (office) or [email protected].
• Panagiotis (Pete) D. Scarlatos, Ph.D., is a professor and chair of the department of civil, environmental and geomatics engineering. His expertise includes ocean waves and currents, coastal processes, sediment transport, density currents, sediment quality and contamination, pollutant dispersion and diffusion, simulation and modeling. Scarlatos can be reached at 561-297-0466 (office), 561-699-2579 (cell) or [email protected].
• Chaouki Ghenai, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in FAU’s department of ocean and mechanical engineering. His expertise includes simulation and modeling of oil spill fate and transport (advection, turbulent diffusion, surface spreading, evaporation, emulsification and dissolution); combustion of oil spills (effects of ocean waves and wind on the burning behavior of oil spills - flame structure, burning rate, amount of oil converted to smoke); and environmental effects from combustion of oil spills (source emissions characterization – carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter and air pollution dispersion modeling, or dispersion of particulate matter from the combustion of oil spills in ambient atmosphere). Ghenai can be reached at 561-297-3943 (office) or [email protected].
• Tsung-chow Su, Ph.D., is a professor in FAU’s department of ocean and mechanical engineering, and specializes in fluid mechanics and fluid-structure interactions. He has published papers related to transient loads on offshore platforms during a subsea well blowout, prediction of boat drift for search and rescue, improved marine outfall design, and dynamics of a jet-sink system to direct a jet to a sink. Su also has experience in analytical, experimental and field research, and has interest in the recovery of oil at the plume near its source subsea by a jet-sink system, separation of oil and sea water by vortex based method, and applying nano- and micro-scale technology to oxidize the crude oil to minimize contamination. Su can be reached at 561-297-3896 (office) or by email at [email protected].
• Manhar Dhanak, Ph.D., is a professor in FAU’s department of ocean and mechanical engineering and director of the Institute for Ocean and Systems Engineering. He has research interests in hydrodynamics and physical oceanography, and has been involved in field experiments using autonomous underwater vehicles. Dhanak can be reached at 954-924-7242 (office) or [email protected].
• Stewart Glegg, Ph.D., is a professor in FAU’s department of ocean and mechanical engineering. He is an expert on fluid structure interactions and ocean engineering. Glegg can be reached at 561-297-2633 (office) or [email protected].
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science:
• Leonard Berry, Ph.D., is the director of the Center for Environmental Studies at Florida Atlantic University. Berry served as the FAU representative on the State of Florida Oil Spill Task Force for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. His expertise includes geomorphology, wetland ecosystems, and adaptation and mitigation of anthropogenic impacts on the environment. He can be reached at 561-799-8554 (office) or [email protected].
• Jeanette Wyneken, Ph.D., is an associate professor in FAU’s department of biological sciences. Research interests include morphological, behavioral and physiological analyses of swimming behavior in hatchlings of three sea turtle species as they undergo offshore migration, and how sea turtle visual systems differ among species. Other ongoing studies include empirical assessments of predation on sea turtle hatchlings in urban settings and studies of egg and hatchling energetics. She can be reached at 561-297-0146 (office), 561-312-4581 (cell) or [email protected].
• Sarah Milton, Ph.D., is an associate professor in FAU’s department of biological sciences. Her recent research includes investigations into the molecular adaptations of neuronal anoxia tolerance in freshwater turtles, an examination of stress adaptations at the molecular and physiological level in Everglades fish, and several different aspects of sea turtle biology including hatchling energetics, immunology, and molecular responses to disease. Milton can be reached at 561-297-3327 (office) or [email protected].
• Dale E. Gawlik, Ph.D., is an associate professor and director of the Environmental Science Program in the department of biological sciences. His research is on avian ecology, wetland ecosystems, and restoration ecology, and includes the study of habitats of wading birds in South Florida. He can be reached at 561-297-3333 (office) or [email protected].
• Marguerite Koch-Rose, Ph.D., is a professor in the department of biological sciences. Her research interests include nutrient cycling and primary production in tropical marine ecosystems, as well as marine plant ecology and ecophysiology. Her current research focuses on biogeochemical changes in tropical marine ecosystems in response to climate change and their affects on marine plant communities. She can be reached at 561-297-3325 (office) or [email protected].
For FAU experts, contact Lisa Metcalf, associate director of media relations at FAU, at 561-297-3022 or [email protected].
- FAU -
About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. In commemoration of its origin, FAU is celebrating its 50th anniversary throughout 2011. Today, the University serves more than 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students on seven campuses and sites. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering & Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.
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