Renée Bowie

About Renée Bowie

Renée Bowie attended Occidental College (A.B. Biology, Marine Emphasis, minor Geology) in Los Angeles, CA, where her research aboard Occidental’s R/V Vantuna ignited her interest in the response of nearshore benthic communities to localized environmental strains and changes in regional circulation and ocean temperatures, specifically fluctuations in El Niño patterns.

Renée completed her Master’s degree at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (M.S. Geology ‘87, San Jose State University). Her thesis, which was supported by awards from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation and Achievement Rewards for College Scientists, utilized sedimentary evidence to evaluate changes in deep circulation in the South Atlantic Ocean in response to the initiation of Northern Hemispheric Glaciation, 3.2 to 1.6 Ma. These studies led to an understanding of the relationship between climate change and the broad circulation patterns of deep and intermediate currents in the Atlantic Ocean.

Upon graduation, Renée worked in Southern California as a geologist/hydrogeologist in the (then) burgeoning environmental consulting field until starting and raising her family. Since then, Renée has volunteered for organizations such as: UCLA Ocean Discovery Center (teacher), The Nature Conservancy (tagging horseshoe crabs and monitoring blueback herring and alewife migrations), and, most recently, Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI), where she volunteered aboard Darling Marine Center’s R/V IRA-C (and in the lab) identifying and photographing larval fish in water samples collected from a time series investigation of the Damariscotta River estuary and nearby offshore.

Renée and her husband, Scott, are committed to supporting marine research, including by establishing an endowed fund to support women scientists at GMRI. Living on Cousins Island (Yarmouth), they are witnesses to the destruction caused by the most recent storms that battered the Northeast and the vulnerability of animal life that exists within the Casco Bay and Gulf of Maine ecosystems. Renée enjoys rowing, playing golf, and walking her Euro-creme retriever, Zola.