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Marine Sciences: Research

Faculty and Their Research

The faculty administer projects funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space administration, the Office of Naval Research, and the U.S. Departments of Energy, Defense, and Agriculture. During fiscal year 2003-2004, the program's core faculty alone administered more than fifty scientific projects supported by about $11 million in extramural, mostly federal, grant funds. Graduate students routinely participate in faculty research activities and often receive financial support from grants. In combination, faculty members publish over one hundred scientific articles and abstracts annually and serve on a variety of editorial boards and national/international professional advisory committees and panels.

Projects by Topic:

Note: (**) indicates faculty in residence at the Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City; (*) indicates faculty who spend time both at UNC in Chapel Hill and the Institute in Morehead City; (#) identifies faculty holding primary appointments in other departments.

Marine Biology and Ecology

John Bruno (Ph.D., Brown University, 2000) Assistant Professor.* Research Interests: Community and Conservation Biology.

Jan J. Kohlmeyer (Ph.D., Free University of Berlin, 1955) Professor.** Research Interests: Biology, ecology, and geographic distribution of marine fungi.

Niels L. Lindquist (Ph.D., University of California-San Diego, 1989) Research Assistant Professor.** Research Interests: Chemical ecology; marine natural products.

Barbara MacGregor (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, 1994), Assistant Research Professor, Interests: Microbial ecology.

Rachel T. Noble (PhD., University of Southern California, 1998) Assistant Professor.** Research Interests: Dynamics of marine microbial food webs.

Hans W. Paerl (Ph.D., University of California-Davis, 1973) W. R. Kenan Professor.** Research Interests: Aquatic microbial ecology; nutrient cycling; algal blooms. http://www.marine.unc.edu/Paerllab/

Frederic M. Pfaender (Ph.D., Cornell University, 1971) Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering.# Research Interests: Pollution Ecology of Aquatic Organisms.

Charles H. Peterson (Ph.D., University of California-Santa Barbara, 1972) Professor.** Research Interests: Benthic ecology; invertebrate fisheries management; ecological experimentation.

Frank J. Schwartz (Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, 1954) Professor.** Research Interests: Descriptive and systematic studies of sharks, marine fishes, and sea turtles (Note: Dr. Schwartz does not advise graduate students).

Andreas P. Teske (Ph.D., Max-Planck-Institute for Marine Microbiology 1995) *Research Interests: microbial systematics and evolution; microbial ecology; microbiology of hydrothermal vents and the marine subsurface; the microbial sulfur cycle.

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Marine Chemistry

Daniel B. Albert (Ph.D., The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1986) Research Associate and Laboratory Manager. Research Interests: Carbon cycling in sedimentary environments; organic matter decomposition in anaerobic systems. http://www.marine.unc.edu/groups/CHAOS.html

Marc J. Alperin (Ph.D., University of Alaska-Fairbanks, 1988) Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies. Research Interests: Carbon cycling in marine sediments; stable isotopes as natural tracers of sediment processes. http://www.marine.unc.edu/groups/CHAOS.html

Carol Arnosti (Ph.D., MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1993) Associate Professor. Research Interests: Marine organic geochemistry; reactivity of organic macromolecules; role of bacteria in degradation.

Christopher S. Martens (Ph.D., Florida State University, 1972) W. B. Aycock Professor.* Research Interests: Biogeochemical processes driven by the decomposition of organic matter; seasonal variations in fluxes of methane and other greenhouse gases. http://www.marine.unc.edu/groups/CHAOS.html

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Marine Geology

Larry K. Benninger (Ph.D., Yale University, 1976) Professor, Department of Geology.# Research Interests: Low temperature geochemistry; sedimentary processes.

Joseph G. Carter (Ph.D., Yale University, 1976) Professor, Department of Geology.# Research Interests: Ecology and evolution of modern and fossil molluscs.

A. Conrad Neumann (Ph.D. Lehigh University, 1963) Professor Emeritus. Research Interests: Carbonate platforms; sediment deposition; sea level change.

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Physical Oceanography

John M. Bane, Jr. (Ph.D., Florida State University, 1975) Professor. Research Interests: Dynamics of Gulf Stream; mesoscale ocean dynamics; aircraft observation and analysis systems. http://www.unc.edu/depts/marine/COOL/

Brian O. Blanton (Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2003) Research Assistant Professor. Research Interests: Coastal ocean modeling and prediction; tidal dynamics in the coastal region; storm-surge modeling and grid-type distributed computation.

Richard A. Luettich, Jr. (Sc.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1987) Professor.** Research Interests: Coastal and estuarine circulation processes, storm surge, numerical modeling and observational studies, physical/biological couplings, water quality.

Alberto Scotti (Ph.D., Johns Hopkins, 1997) Assistant Professor. Research Interests: Computational and Theoretical Fluid Dynamics, Statistical Mechanics, Mathematical Physics.

Harvey E. Seim (Ph.D., University of Washington, 1993) Associate Professor. Research Interests: Physical oceanography, turbulence and mixing processes, internal hydraulics, internal waves, boundary layer processes, flow interaction with topography, tidal dynamics, numerical modeling.

Thomas J. Shay (Ph.D., University of Washington, 1985) Research Assistant Professor. Research Interests: Air/sea boundary layer dynamics; mesoscale ocean dynamics. http://www.unc.edu/depts/marine/COOL

Francisco E. Werner (Ph.D., University of Washington, 1984) Professor. Research Interests: Numerical modeling of physical and biological processes in coastal oceans and shallow seas. http://globec.whoi.edu/globec.html; http://www.ccpo.odu/edu/~wheless/sabre.html; http://www.opnml.unc.edu

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Adjunct Faculty

Frederick M. Bingham (Ph.D., University of California-San Diego) Associate Professor of Physics, UNC-Wilmington. Research Interests: Circulation and dynamics of ocean current systems. bingham@uncwil.edu

Mark E. Hay (Ph.D., University of California-Irvine, 1980) Professor. Research Interests: Ecological experimentation; plant-herbivore interactions; bioactive chemicals. mark.hay@biology.gatech.edu

William M. Kier (Ph.D., Duke University, 1983) Professor of Biology, UNC-CH. Research Interests: Functional morphology of marine invertebrates, biomechanics. billkier@bio.unc.edu

Kenneth J. Lohmann (Ph.D., University of Washington, 1988) Associate Professor of Biology, UNC-CH. Research Interests: Neuroethnology and invertebrate zoology. klohman@email.unc.edu

Joseph R. Pawlik (Ph.D., Scripps Inst. of Oceanography, 1988) Professor of Marine Sciences, UNC-Wilmington. Research Interests: Invertebrate zoology, marine natural products. pawlik@uncwil.edu

Martin H. Posey (Ph.D., University of Oregon-Eugene, 1985) Professor of Biology, UNC-Wilmington. Research Interests: Factors that regulate marine benthic communities; population dynamics of marine organisms. posey@uncwil.edu

Mark D. Sobsey (Ph.D., Univ. of California-Berkeley, 1971) Professor of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, UNC-CH. Research Interests: Removal and destruction of disease-causing microorganisms by natural and engineered processes. mark_sobsey@unc.edu

Robert H. Stavn (Ph.D., Yale University, 1969) Professor of Biology, UNC-Greensboro. Research Interests: Ocean optical properties and their relation to marine productivity and global climate change. stavnrh@iris.uncg.edu

Joan D. Willey (Ph.D., Dalhousie University, 1975) DeLoach Professor of Chemistry and Marine Sciences, UNC-Wilmington.Research Interests: Chemical effects of atmospheric deposition of nutrients in coastal waters; silica geochemistry. willeyj@uncwil.edu

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