Distinguished alumna Dawn Wright (UCSB Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Physical Geography and Marine Geology, 1994) has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society. Dr. Wright, a professor of geosciences, was honored for “distinguished contributions to the field of marine geospatial science and technology, particularly for leadership in the development of marine geographic information science theory and applications.”
An Oregon State University faculty member since 1995, Wright is a marine and coastal geography expert so passionate about her subject that she’s known as “Deepsea Dawn.” She is featured on a web site about “Women Exploring the Oceans” (www.womenoceanographers.org/) and was profiled in the book “What Do You Want To Be? Explore Earth Sciences.” In 2007 alone, she was elected a U.S. Professor of the Year by The Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; she was chosen as the Commencement Speaker for the UCSB Division of Science and Mathematics; she won UCSB Geography’s Raymond C. Smith Distinguished Alumni Award; and she was a finalist for the Loyd Carter Award for Outstanding and Inspirational Undergraduate Teaching, College of Science, OSU. For more about our illustrious alumna, see her web site here.
