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NSF Press Release

 


National Science Foundation Personnel Announcement
NSF PA 99-2 - September 22, 1999

Media contact:

 Cheryl Dybas

 (703) 292-8070

 cdybas@nsf.gov

This material is available primarily for archival purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information may be out of date; please see current contact information at media contacts.

NSF Names New Geosciences Head

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has named oceanographer Margaret Leinen of the University of Rhode Island to head its geosciences directorate. She is scheduled to assume her new position as NSF's assistant director for geosciences in January 2000. Leinen also will be responsible for coordinating environmental science and engineering programs within NSF, and for environmental cooperation and collaborations between NSF and other Federal agencies.

Leinen is a well-known researcher in paleoceanography and paleoclimatology. Her work focuses on the history of biogenic sedimentation in the oceans and its relationship to global biogeochemical cycles, and the history of eolian sedimentation in the oceans and its relationship to climate.

At the University of Rhode Island, Leinen is dean, Graduate School of Oceanography, and vice provost for Marine and Environmental Programs. She also is interim dean, College of the Environment and Life Sciences. Leinen has spent her entire academic career at the University of Rhode Island, considered one of the country's top institutions for marine studies. During her tenure, she spearheaded the University's efforts to build a cohesive interdisciplinary marine and environmental focus.

Leinen received her B.S. degree (1969) in geology from the University of Illinois; her M.S. (1975) in geological oceanography from Oregon State University; and her Ph.D. (1980) in oceanography from the University of Rhode Island.

She is a past president of The Oceanography Society. She is on the Board of Governors of the Joint Oceanographic Institutions, and the Ocean Research Advisory Council. Leinen also has served as Vice Chair of the International Geosphere Biosphere Program and on the Board on Global Change of the National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences.

As head of NSF's geosciences directorate, Leinen will manage a budget of approximately $470 million annually. Her selection followed a national search chaired by Susan Solomon, senior scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Boulder, Colorado.

Leinen will replace Robert W. Corell, who has held the position since 1987.

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