• Sarah Mincks Hardy started on July 1 as an Assistant Professor of Marine Biology.  Dr. Mincks received her Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in biological oceanography and was the recipient of one of the University of Alaska International Polar Year (IPY) post-doctoral fellowships working with Drs. Bodil Bluhm and Katrin Iken.  Dr. Mincks is based in Fairbanks.

• Andrew Seitz started on July 1 as an Assistant Professor of Fisheries.  Dr. Seitz received his Ph.D. from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in fisheries oceanography and has worked previously as a fishery biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.  He has been employed by SFOS during the last year as an instructor in our undergraduate fisheries program.  Dr. Seitz is based in Fairbanks.

• Sam VanLaningham has accepted our offer to become an Assistant Professor of Oceanography.  Dr. VanLaningham received his Ph.D. from Oregon State University, College of Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, in 2007.  He is originally from Ellensburg, Washington, and is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.  Dr. VanLaningham joined our Fairbanks faculty on August 15.

• Izetta Chambers joined SFOS on August 23 as an Assistant Professor in our Marine Advisory Program.  Ms. Chambers has a B.A. degree in business management from the University of Arizona and Juris Doctorate from the University of Arizona.  She is from Naknek, Alaska, where her family operates Naknek Family Fisheries, LLC. Read more here...

• Megan McPhee joins our Juneau faculty on January 1, 2010, as an Assistant Professor of Fisheries.  Dr. McPhee received her Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico and has a B.S. in fisheries from the University of Washington.  She is currently a research assistant professor at the Flathead Lake Biological Station of the University of Montana.

• Marilyn Sigman, a respected marine science educator from Homer, has been named education specialist for the new Alaska Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence in Anchorage. Funding for the center comes from NSF.

A central focus of COSEE Alaska is to heighten public understanding of climate change occurring in Alaska and the circumpolar north. Read more...

• Courtney Carothers, Fisheries, Fairbanks
Carothers joins SFOS as an assistant professor with a focus on the human dimensions of fisheries. Carothers received her master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Washington. Her dissertation was called "Placing community: Privatization and social change in Alaskan fishing villages."

• Lara Dehn, Marine Biology, Fairbanks
Dehn is an assistant professor of marine biology and specializes in marine mammals. Before coming to SFOS, Dehn was a fishery biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. She received her B.S. and M.S. in Germany, and her Ph.D. from UAF.

• Ginny Eckert, Fisheries, Juneau
Eckert is an associate professor of fisheries with a focus on shellfish biology. Eckert was an associate professor of biology at UAS and has been a joint faculty member with SFOS since 2001. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Read more about Eckert online.

• Andrés Lopez, Fisheries & UA Museum, Fairbanks
Lopez has a joint appointment as an assistant professor of fisheries at SFOS and a Curator of Fish at the UA Museum. Since 2005, Lopez has been an ichthyologist at the Florida Museum of Natural History. He received his M.S. from the University of Washington, and his Ph.D. from Iowa State University.

• Franz Mueter, Fisheries, Juneau
Mueter is an assistant professor of fisheries, specializing in fisheries biometrics, at SFOS in Juneau. Mueter received his Ph.D. in fisheries oceanography from UAF. He has two master's degrees, in statistics and biological oceanography, also from UAF.

• Harper Simmons, Oceanography, Fairbanks
An associate professor of physical oceanography, Simmons specializes in ocean circulation. He was most recently employed at the International Arctic Research Center at UAF. Born and raised in Fairbanks, Simmons received his B.S. and M.S. from UAF and his Ph.D. from Florida State University.

• Peter Winsor, Oceanography, Fairbanks
Winsor is an associate professor of physical oceanography. A specialist in the dynamics of arctic and subarctic seas, Winsor most recently worked as a scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He earned his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Sweden.