DNREC administrator Sarah Cooksey named to national Ocean Studies Board
Sarah W. Cooksey, administrator of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Delaware Coastal Programs, has been named to the National Academies of Sciences’ Division of Earth & Life Studies' Ocean Studies Board.
Cooksey joins a board that is actively engaged in many ocean science issues such as a review of the scientific ocean drilling program, ocean acidification, and assessing the requirements for ocean monitoring and observations. Cooksey’s role on the board will guide research into pressing ocean and coastal management needs. “Sarah is widely recognized as a national leader in marine science and ocean policy. She will be the perfect ambassador for Delaware and all of the coastal states that she represents on the Ocean Studies Board,” said DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara.
Issues that require new applied science for Delaware include renewable ocean energy and economic solutions for adaptation to sea-level rise. “Delaware is a microcosm for emerging issues and solutions related to the ocean,” Cooksey said, “and I am flattered and delighted to serve.”
Major sponsors of Ocean Studies Board include the National Science Foundation, Office of Scientific Research, NASA, NOAA, U.S. Geological Survey and other U.S. Department of the Interior agencies. The board currently has studies under way on the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on Gulf of Mexico ecosystems, stock rebuilding plans for federal fisheries, marine hydrokinetic energy and sea-level rise on the West Coast of the United States.
More information about the board and current activities can be found at: www.dels.nas.edu/osb.
The Ocean Studies Board also advises the National Research Council on ocean-related topics like identifying current issues of interest or concern, assisting with the design and oversight of studies, and providing a forum for the federal agencies and the ocean sciences community to discuss emerging issues. The board is also the U.S. National Committee for Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research and has a representative on the U.S. Committee for the International Oceanic Committee.
The OSB typically has 20 members with a staggered rotating membership. Members serve three-year terms with the option to renew for a second three-year term. In 1863, President Lincoln signed the charter creating the National Academy of Sciences to honor the nation’s top scientists with membership and enlist them to serve as independent expert advisers to the nation.
The Division of Earth & Life Studies enlists scientists to address issues of local and national importance at the intersection of public policy and the geo-, life and chemical sciences, as well as subjects ranging from the environment to agriculture to disaster response. Cooksey’s first meeting as an OSB member comes in March.
