Geography professor Libe Washburn has been appointed the new Chair of the UCSB Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Marine Science. The Program, which offers MS and PhD degrees, is made up of faculty from nine departments on campus, including the Departments of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology; Earth Science; Geography; Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology; Chemical Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; Chemistry & Biochemistry; Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management; and Anthropology.
“The diversity of research interests, perspectives, and expertise within the program promotes the development of a broad foundation in marine science and appreciation for interdisciplinary approaches to education and research while also allowing students to develop depth in specific subdisciplines within the field.” “The departments that participate in the Interdepartmental Program provide a full spectrum of modern facilities in marine science. These include a flow-through seawater system serving three main buildings on campus, electron and laser confocal microscopes, a fleet of coastal boats, scuba facilities, collection services for marine organisms, and extensive modern computing, GIS, remote sensing and mapping facilities” (from the marine group web site).
Libe received his PhD in Engineering Science (Fluid Mechanics) from the University of California, San Diego. His research interests include coastal circulation, mesoscale processes, air-sea interaction, and interdisciplinary oceanography. Before joining the UCSB Department of Geography in 1991, Libe was a Postgraduate Research Oceanographer at Scripps (1982-1985) and a Research Assistant Professor of Physical Oceanography, Center for Earth Sciences, at USC (1985-1990). His current research projects include the Santa Barbara Coastal Long Term Ecological Research Project which is part of the NSF’s Long Term Ecological Research Network; the NSF-funded Moorea Coral Reef Long Term Ecological Research Site Project (the site is the complex of coral reefs and lagoons that surround the island of Moorea in French Polynesia); and the UCSB Ocean Surface Currents Mapping Project.
Five UCSB departments in the Division of Mathematical, Life, and Physical Sciences rank in the top 20 nationwide: Chemistry and Biochemistry; Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology; Geography; Earth Science; and Physics – and all but Physics have direct ties to the Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Marine Science. To be appointed Chair of such a prestigious and multidisciplinary Program is quite a personal honor, as well as a tribute to the quality of our Geography faculty. Kudos to Libe!
