C
Committee and Staff Biographies
Lynda Shapiro, chair, is a professor emerita of biology at the University of Oregon’s Institute of Marine Biology. Her research interests include the biology of pelagic marine phytoplankton; distributions and abundances of the eukaryotic ultraplankton, incorporation of these minute cells into the microbial food web, and the role of associated bacteria on the nutrition of phytoplankton; harmful algal blooms; and sustainable harvesting of marine macroalgae. Dr. Shapiro has served on several National Research Council (NRC) committees including the Committee on Major U.S. Oceanographic Research Programs, Committee on Fish Stock Assessment Methods, Committee on the Arctic Research Vessel, and Committee to Review Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, and she has served as a member of the Ocean Studies Board (OSB). Dr. Shapiro earned her Ph.D. in marine biology from Duke University in 1974.
Kevin Arrigo is an assistant professor of geophysics at Stanford University. Dr. Arrigo’s research interests include understanding the role marine microalgae play in biochemical cycling, with particular emphasis on the scales of temporal and spatial variability of microalgal biomass and productivity; understanding how anthropogenic and atmospheric forcing controls the biogenic flux of CO2 into the oceans and, ultimately, the sediments; remote sensing; and Antarctic biological oceanography. Dr. Arrigo earned his Ph.D. in biology from the University of Southern California in 1992.
Don Bowen is a research scientist at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada, and an adjunct professor in the Biology Department, Dalhousie University. His research has focused on the life history variation, population dynamics, foraging ecology, and ecological energetics of marine mammals. Since 1999, he has served as editor of Marine Mammal Science. He also serves on the Hawaiian Monk Seal Recovery Team and the Special Committee on Seals in the United Kingdom. Dr. Bowen previously served on the NRC’s Committee to Review the Gulf of Alaska Ecosystem Monitoring Program and the Committee on Bering Sea Ecosystems, and he currently serves on the North Pacific Research Board’s Science Panel. He earned his Ph.D. in zoology from the University of British Columbia in 1978.
Rognvaldur Hannesson is a professor of economics at the Norges Handelshoyskole Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration. Dr. Hannesson’s research interests include fisheries management, economics of fish resources, micro and macroeconomics, petroleum economics, natural resources economics, growth theory, and property rights. Dr. Hannesson served on the NRC Committee to Review Individual Fishing Quotas. Dr. Hannesson earned his Ph.D. in fisheries economics from the University of Lund in 1974.
Steven Hare is a quantitative biologist for the International Halibut Commission in Seattle, Washington. Dr. Hare’s research interests include climate variability and its impacts on marine populations; fisheries population dynamics modeling and stock assessment; incorporating climate dynamics into fisheries management strategies; factors influencing the processes of growth and recruitment; and the North Pacific ecosystem dynamics and carrying capacity. He serves on the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee. Dr. Hare earned his Ph.D. in fisheries from the University of Washington in 1996.
David Karl is a professor of oceanography at the University of Hawaii. His research interests include marine microbial ecology, biogeochemistry, long-term time-series studies of climate and ecosystem variability, and the ocean’s role in regulating the global concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. Dr. Karl is a member of the Polar Research Board. He earned his Ph.D. in oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, in 1978.
Brenda Konar is an assistant professor at the School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Dr. Konar’s research interests include fish assemblages associated with sea lion haul-outs; utilization of Alaska kelp beds by commercially important fish; freeze tolerance and survival of intertidal invertebrates; Bering Sea benthic amphipod community stability or instability relative to changing oceanographic conditions and increased gray whale predation; comparison of Barents-Bering Sea trajectories of marine ecosystem response to Arctic climate change; subtidal, intertidal, and benthic ecology; phycology; invertebrate biology; research scuba diving; biodiversity; and monitoring programs. Dr. Konar earned her Ph.D. in biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1998.
Robie Macdonald is a research scientist at the Institute of Ocean Sciences, Fisheries and Oceans, Canada. His research focuses on ocean geochemistry; contaminant processes; stable isotopes; environmental assessment; freshwater budgets, shelf processes, and sea-ice formation; and organic carbon cycling in marine sediments. He has received the University Medal in Chemistry, the Society of Chemical Industry Merit Award, and the Chemical Institute of Canada Prize. Dr. Macdonald is a member of the Polar Research Board. He earned his Ph.D. in oceanography in 1972 from Dalhousie University.
Wieslaw Maslowski is an associate research professor at the Naval Postgraduate School. Dr. Maslowski’s research interests include Arctic oceanography; numerical ocean and sea-ice modeling; ocean circulation and climate change; physical and polar
oceanography; dynamical oceanography and numerical modeling; climate variability in the Arctic Ocean; and impacts of mesoscale ocean currents on sea ice in high-resolution Arctic ice and ocean simulations. Dr. Maslowski earned his Ph.D. from the University of Alaska in 1994.
Julian P. McCreary, Jr., is currently the director of the International Pacific Research Center (IPRC) at the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu. The IPRC’s Mission is “to provide an international, research environment to improve understanding of the nature and predictability of climate variability in the Asia-Pacific sector, including regional aspects of global environmental change.” Dr. McCreary’s research interests include equatorial ocean dynamics, coastal ocean dynamics, ocean circulation, coupled ocean-atmosphere models of climate dynamics, and ecosystem modeling. Dr. McCreary is a member of the Ocean Studies Board. He received his Ph.D. in oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, in 1977.
Caleb Pungowiyi is a Yup’ik Eskimo who was born and raised on Savoonga on St. Lawrence Island. He has extensive experience as a spokesperson and advocate for Native concerns and traditional knowledge in regional, national, and international policy matters. Pungowiyi is currently president of the Robert Aqqaluk Newlin, Sr., Memorial Trust in Kotzebue, Alaska. He currently serves as the Marine Mammal Commission’s special advisor on native affairs. He is a former president and CEO of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference. He currently serves on the Bering Straits Regional Commission and, the Committee of Scientific Advisors for the Marine Mammal Commission. Pungowiyi also serves on the Bering Sea Impact Study (a subcommittee of the International Arctic Science Committee), the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States, and the Indigenous People’s Council for Marine Mammals.
Vladimir Radchenko is the director of the Sakhalin Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography in Russia. Dr. Radchenko has more than 15 years of experience in fisheries research in the Bering Sea. His research interests focus on the composition, structure, and dynamics of nekton communities of the Bering Sea epipelagic layer; seasonal spatial distribution dynamics; and historical trends of fisheries and stocks condition of Pacific salmon. He currently serves as member and chair of the PICES Biological Oceanography Committee. Dr. Radchenko earned his Ph.D. in fisheries research from the Pacific Scientific Research Fisheries Center in Vladivostok in 1994.
STAFF
Chris Elfring is director of the Polar Research Board (PRB) and Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (BASC). She is responsible for all aspects of strategic planning, project development and oversight, financial management, and personnel for both units. Since joining the PRB in 1996, Ms. Elfring has overseen or directed studies that produced the following reports: Frontiers in Polar Biology in the Genomics Era (2003), Cumulative Environmental Impacts of Oil and Gas Activities on Alaska's North Slope
(2003), A Century of Ecosystem Science: Planning Long-term Research in the Gulf of Alaska (2002), and Enhancing NASA's Contributions to Polar Science (2001). In addition, she is responsible for the Board's activities as the U.S. National Committee to the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.
Sheldon Drobot was a program officer at the Polar Research Board and the Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate December 2002 until November 2004. He received his Ph.D. in geosciences (climatology specialty) from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Drobot has directed NRC studies on Climate Data Records from Operational Satellites and A Vision for the International Polar Year 2007–2008. His research interests include sea ice-atmosphere interactions, microwave remote sensing, statistics, and long-range climate outlooks. Dr. Drobot is now at the University of Colorado-Boulder. His researching interests include interannual variability and trends in Arctic sea ice conditions and how low-frequency atmospheric circulation affects sea ice distribution; short-range forecasting of Great Lakes ice conditions; and biological implications of sea ice variability.
Sarah Capote is a senior program assistant with the Ocean Studies Board. She earned her B.A. in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2001. During her tenure with the board, Ms. Capote worked on the following reports: Exploration of the Seas: Voyage into the Unknown (2003), Nonnative Oysters in the Chesapeake Bay (2004), Future Needs in Deep Submergence Science: Occupied and Unoccupied Vehicles in Basic Ocean Research (2004), the interim report for Elements of a Science Plan for the North Pacific Research Board (2004), A Vision for the International Polar Year 2007-2008 (2004), and Marine Mammal Populations and Ocean Noise: Determining When Noise Causes Biologically Significant Effects (2005).