Senior Research Scientists
Our Senior Research Scientists (SRSs) are the heart of Bigelow Laboratory, which would not exist without them. They produce the ideas and projects that are presented as grant proposals to a variety of public and private funding sources. Their research funding pays the salaries, purchases the equipment, and covers most of the operational costs of running the Laboratory.
The Laboratory's Senior Research Scientists work across three core areas of ocean science: Marine Microbiology and Blue Biotechnology, Ocean Biogeochemistry and Climate Change, and Ocean Health and Marine Ecosystem Function.
The web pages in this section are dedicated to this team, and is an opportunity for the scientists to share recent projects, publications, grants, and discoveries. Short profiles of each SRS are available for download as a complete set, or as individual PDF documents, below.
Marine Microbiology and Blue Biotechnology
PhD, Microbiology, Cornell University, 1989
Research: Oxygen-dependent, iron-oxidizing marine bacteria.
Confocal Microscopy Facility
PhD, Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, 2007
Research: Geomicrobiology and microbial biogeochemistry
Dr. Nicole Poulton (Research Scientist)Ph.D. 2001, Biological Oceanography, MIT
– Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program
Research: Phytoplankton ecology.
PhD, Biological Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, 1985
Research: Marine planktonic ecosystems.
PhD, Limnology/Ecology, Lund University, Sweden, 2000
Research: Diverse aspects of microbial ecology, evolution, and biotechnological potential of environmental microorganisms.
Seminar Coordinator
PhD, Marine Viruses, University of Warwick, UK, 1998
Research: The role of viruses in the ocean.
Ocean Biogeochemistry and Climate Change
Ph.D., in Marine Biology and Physiology,
University of St. Andrews, UK (1989)
B.Sc. in Marine Biology, Liverpool University, UK (1985)
PhD, Cum Laude, Biology, Cornell University, 1980
Research: Distribution of phytoplankton in space and time.
Chair, Search Committee
PhD, Biocemistry and Molecular Biology, U Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Research: Microbiology and Parasitology
PhD, Biological Oceanography, University of Maryland, 1999
Research: Phytoplankton role in the biological carbon pump
PhD, Biological Oceanography, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 1988
Research: Study of chemical compounds relevant to climate and ocean environments.
Chair, Personnel Committee
PhD, Marine Geochemistry, University of Edinburgh, UK, 1985
Research: Geochemical processes operating in oceans.
Executive Director & President, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
PhD, Coastal Oceanography, Stony Brook University, 2003
Research: Interactions between trace metals and plankton.
Ocean Health and Marine Ecosystem Function
PhD, Biology, University of Southern California, 2005
Research: Protistan diversity and activity in the benthos and water column surrounding deep-sea hydrothermal vents.
Chair, Facilities Committee
PhD, Oceanography, State University of New York-Stony Brook, 1996
Research: Behavior of copepods and other zooplankton.
Chair, Education Committee
PhD, University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography
Research: Phytoplankton ecology with an emphasis on harmful algal blooms and eutrophication.
Dr. Peter Larsen (Emeritus)
PhD, Marine Science, College of William and Mary, 1974
Research: Ecology of boreal, macrotidal systems, particularly the Gulf of Maine.
PhD, Molecular Evolution & Phylogenetics, Louisiana State University, 1999
Research: Evolutionary bioinformatics; Molecular adaptation in response to habitat and climate change.
Chair, Library & Information Resources Committee