Science Advisory Council
Sylvia Earle
The most celebrated and honored of all oceanographers, Dr. Sylvia Earle is an author, lecturer, explorer, leader, and research scientist who has led more than 70 expeditions, logging more than 6500 hours underwater. She holds numerous diving records, including setting the women's depth record for solo diving at a thousand meters (3,300 feet). Earle was formerly chief scientist of NOAA, and counts Time Magazine's first "Hero for the Planet" award in 1998, her status as National Geographic explorer-in-residence, and the 2009 TED Prize for her proposal to establish a global network of marine protected areas among the more than 100 national and international honors she has received. Dr. Earle is an inspiration to One World One Ocean and also serves as a principal advisor to the campaign.
In her TED presentation on Mission Blue, she said "I wish you would use all means at your disposal — films! expeditions! the web! more! — to ignite public support for a global network of marine protected areas, hope spots large enough to save and restore the ocean, the blue heart of the planet."
David Ellis
From 1990 to 2002, Dr. David Ellis served as President and Director of the Museum of Science, Boston, one of the world's largest science and technology centers and the most attended cultural attraction in Boston (1.7 million visitors per year). Dr. Ellis has worked with and advised on the production and release of several IMAX films, including those produced by MacGillivray Freeman Films.
David Gallo
Director of Special Projects at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Dr. Gallo has been exploring the oceans of the world for 25 years. He was one of the first scientists to use robots and deep submersibles to map deep-sea mountain ranges and continues to help develop new undersea technologies. Most recently he was co-expedition leader on a mapping mission to RMS Titanic. He served the same role on a successful search for the missing aircraft, Air France 447. He is passionate about communicating ocean science to the public and has done so on television, in classrooms, and in boardrooms around the world.
Gregor Hodgson
A coral reef ecologist, Dr. Hodgson is founder and Executive Director of Reef Check, an international non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of tropical coral reefs and California rocky reefs. With headquarters in Pacific Palisades and volunteer teams in more than 90 countries and territories, Reef Check works to create partnerships among community volunteers, government agencies, businesses, universities, and other non-profits.
Nancy Knowlton
Dr. Knowlton holds the Sant Chair in Marine Science at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, leading the Institution's efforts to foster a greater public understanding of the world's oceans. As a coral reef biologist her research has focused on the ecology, evolution, and conservation of coral reef organisms. Her analyses have led to the now widespread recognition that estimates of marine diversity have been far too low (by a factor of ten).
Lawrence P. Madin
Larry Madin is the Executive Vice President, Director of Research, and a Senior Scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Woods Hole, MA. His personal research interests are the biology of oceanic and deep-sea zooplankton, with an emphasis on 'jelly-animals.' He was among the first biologists to use SCUBA and submersibles to study oceanic plankton.
Stephen Palumbi
Stephen Palumbi is the Director of Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station, and a member of the managing committee for the Center for Ocean Solutions. His research focuses on genetics, evolution, and the use of DNA data for conservation purposes, such as the design and implementation of marine protected areas and the identification of whales and dolphins for sale in retail fisheries markets. Dr. Palumbi has contributed to several films and television documentaries to enhance science communication. He helped establish the Short Attention Span Science Theatre and has published several books including "The Death and Life of Monterey Bay: A Story of Revival". With his son Anthony, he is working on a new book, "Shark and Awe: The Extreme Life of the Sea".
Daniel Pauly
Dr. Daniel Pauly is a Professor of Fisheries and formerly the director of the Fisheries Centre at the University of British Columbia. A teacher in four languages on five continents, he is the Principal Investigator of the Sea Around Us Project, funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Dr. Pauly's work is devoted to studying, documenting and promoting policies to mitigate the impact of fisheries on the world's marine ecosystems. He initiated approaches and software, such as Fishbase, an online encyclopedia of fishes, which are used throughout the world.
Richard Pyle
Richard Pyle, a research scientist at Bernice P. Bishop Museum in Honolulu, dives the coral-reef "twilight zone," those depths between 200 and 500 feet, where he identifies and documents new species. Author of scientific, technical and popular articles, his expeditions have also been featured in the IMAX Theatre film Coral Reef Adventure and the BBC series Pacific Abyss. Dr. Pyle is a member of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature and contributes to advancements in diving technologies.
Carl Safina
Carl Safina is a prominent ecologist and marine conservationist, and the founding President of Blue Ocean Institute. He also works as an adjunct professor at Stony Brook University. A winner of the prestigious Pew Fellowship, MacArthur Fellowship, and Guggenheim Fellowship, his six books include Song for the Blue Ocean, The View From Lazy Point, and A Sea in Flames. He is host of Saving the Ocean on PBS television.
Greg Stone
Greg Stone began his career pioneering ocean research in Antarctica. Today he is well known for his leadership creating the world's second-largest marine protected area, around the Phoenix Islands in Kiribati in the South Pacific. Stone is the Chief Scientist for Oceans at Conservation International and a prolific author and speaker on the state of the marine environment and how policy can make change.
