URI Scientist Receives
Research Award from National Park
Service
Narragansett, RI -- August 28, 2001 --
Charles
Roman, a research scientist with the
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) located at
the University of Rhode Island’s
Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO),
will receive the 2000 Director’s
Award for Natural Resource Research from
the National Park Service. The award will
be presented at a ceremony in Florida in
October.
Roman has been involved in scientific
research on the ecology of coastal
ecosystems on behalf of the National Park
Service’s coastal parks for more than
15 years. His research, an essential
component in protecting coastal barrier
national seashores, includes restoring
salt marshes and small estuaries,
monitoring changes in coastal ecosystem
structure, function and process,
evaluating relationships between sea level
rise and salt marsh habitat structure, and
evaluating freshwater wetland
ecosystems.
"Dr. Roman has training courses and
workshops for resource managers, park
managers, and park interpreters to assist
the National Park Service in preservation
efforts," said Mary Foley, Chief Scientist
for the National Park Service Northeast
Region. "His innovative approaches to
predicting and quantifying ecological
restoration responses have benefited park
resources. In addition, he has been
instrumental in uniting the strengths of
the academic community with the strengths
of the resource management professionals.
He is creative and has inspired much
research interest in national parks among
the scientific community."
"Our coastal national parks are very
special places," said Roman, "and I am
fortunate to have the opportunity to study
these areas. It is especially rewarding to
know that the National Park Service
applies much of my research toward
understanding, protecting, and restoring
their coastal habitats.
"It is wonderful to receive this award,"
added Roman, "which points to my research
accomplishments, but this award also
recognizes the excellent work of my
graduate students and many research
colleagues at URI."
Roman earned a B.S. in resource
development from the University of Rhode
Island, an M.A. in botany from Connecticut
College, and a Ph.D. in marine studies
from the University of Delaware. He serves
on editorial boards for several
professional journals and on several
executive committees, including the New
England Estuarine Research Society. He is
the author of more than sixty articles and
reports pertaining to his research on
coastal ecosystems and has coedited a book
on estuaries. He lives in East
Greenwich.
Roman heads up the USGS Coastal Field
Station at URI which conducts scientific
research on coastal National Parks and
National Wildlife Refuges with the
objective of applying research findings to
the protection of natural resources and
development of effective natural resource
management policies. Since 1989, URI
researchers and graduate students have
collaborated with USGS and National Park
Service scientists stationed at URI to
conduct research at a number of sites,
including Acadia National Park, Cape Cod,
Fire Island and Assateague Island National
Seashores, Gateway National Recreation
Area, Rachel Carson, Sachuest Point and
Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuges, and
many other Department of the Interior
coastal units.
Contact: Lisa Cugini, (401) 874-6642,
lcugini@gso.uri.edu
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