Narragansett, R.I. — February 17, 2000 — URI Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO) biological oceanographer Dr. Scott Nixon has recently been appointed a member of the Ocean Studies Board of the National Research Council (NRC) and vice-chair of the Committee on the Restoration of the Everglades as part of the NRC’s Water and Science Technology Board. The NRC is based in Washington, D.C. Nixon will serve a 3-year term with the Ocean Studies Board, established by the NRC to advise the federal government on issues of ocean science, engineering, and policy. In addition to exercising leadership within the ocean community, the Board explores the science, policies, and infrastructure needed to understand and protect coastal and marine environments and resources. The Committee on the Restoration of the Everglades is a 5-year program that provides scientific guidance to multiple agencies charged with restoration and preservation of the Everglades. As a member of the committee, Nixon will assist the committee in reviewing the $8 billion research plan developed by the Army Corps of Engineers and the State of Florida for the restoration of the Everglades. A resident of Wakefield, Scott Nixon joined the GSO faculty in 1970. He became director of the RI Sea Grant Program in 1986 and recently retired from this position on February 1. He received a B.A. from the University of Delaware in biology and a Ph.D. in botany from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In 1992 he received the prestigious Ketchum Award for excellence in coastal research. He serves as co-editor in chief of the journal, Estuaries. He has served on three National Research Council committees including, most recently, the Committee on Coastal Oceans. His research interests include nutrient cycling and ecological systems, with an emphasis on estuaries, lagoons, and wetlands. The URI Graduate School of Oceanography is one of the country’s largest marine science education programs, and one of the world’s foremost marine research institutions. Founded in 1961 in Narragansett, RI, GSO serves a community of scientists who are researching the causes of and solutions to such problems as acid rain, global warming, air and water pollution, oil spills, overfishing, and coastal erosion. GSO is home to the Coastal Institute, the Coastal Resources Center, Rhode Island Sea Grant, the Ocean Technology Center, and the National Sea Grant Depository. x-x-x Visit the URI Graduate School of Oceanography website: www.uri.gso.edu Contact: Lisa Cugini, (401) 874-6642, lcugini@gso.uri.edu