Solomons, Md (29 July, 2011) – Dr. Thomas Miller has been appointed the Director of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Chesapeake Biological Laboratory after serving as its Interim Director since May.
“Dr. Miller is an internationally renowned scientist who has also garnered the wide respect of his scientific colleagues and the fisheries managers he has long advised,” said UMCES President Dr. Donald Boesch. “I’m confident that his vision and leadership style will build upon the great success and reputation of CBL as one of the nation’s leading marine research laboratories.”
Tom Miller has been a member of the UMCES faculty since 1994 where he studies the dynamics of fish species. He has been a leader in the development of approaches to manage several Chesapeake Bay species, particularly recent efforts to ensure the sustainability of the blue crab population and fishery. He received his B.Sc. from the University of York in England as well as an M.S. in ecology and Ph.D. from North Carolina State University.
Chesapeake Biological Laboratory was founded in 1925 and has a long history of research excellence in fisheries, environmental chemistry, and coastal ecosystems by its 120 scientists, graduate students and staff. Fisheries scientists have developed management plans that led to the recovery of the striped bass, completed the most recent blue crab stock assessment and studying habitat use by tuna, sturgeon, white perch and other species. Research by environmental chemists focus on the impact of toxins on turtles, the movement of organic contaminants between the atmosphere, sediments and water, and carbon cycling in the Arctic. The ecosystem scientists work on large-scale nutrient dynamics and food webs.
After serving as CBL’s Director for six years, Dr. Margaret Palmer stepped down in May to lead a new national environmental synthesis center supported by the National Science Foundation. She will keep her joint faculty appointment with UMCES and University of Maryland, College Park and continue her research programs at CBL.
The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science is the University System of Maryland’s environmental research institution. UMCES researchers are helping improve our scientific understanding of Maryland, the region and the world through five research centers – Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons, Appalachian Laboratory in Frostburg, Horn Point Laboratory in Cambridge, Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology in Baltimore, and the Maryland Sea Grant College in College Park.
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Media Contact: David Nemazie, 443-496-0187