UMaine, Gulf of Maine Research Institute Partnership Lures Top Scientist to UMaine
Contact: Ben Slayton, Gulf of Maine Research Institute, (207) 228-1638, Ben@gmri.org
Joe Carr, (207) 581-3571, joecarr@maine.edu
Andrew Pershing, Ph.D., Brings Ecosystem Modeling Expertise to the Gulf of Maine
PORTLAND AND ORONO, Me. — The University of Maine and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute today announced the hiring of marine ecosystem modeler Andrew Pershing, Ph.D. This appointment was made possible by a unique partnership between the university and GMRI, bringing much needed expertise in marine ecosystem modeling to support fishery management in the Gulf of Maine region. Currently a Cornell University faculty member, Pershing will begin work in Maine this summer.
Pershing will join the faculty at UMaine, as an Assistant Research Professor of Oceanography in the university’s School of Marine Sciences, which is based in Orono and has a statewide teaching, research and outreach presence. He will be stationed at GMRI’s research lab on Portland’s working waterfront, as part of a unique partnership between the two institutions. Pershing, who will teach UMaine courses and advise graduate students, will join with GMRI scientists to research the dynamics of marine ecosystems, with an emphasis on Gulf of Maine fisheries issues.
Prof. David Townsend, director of UMaine’s School of Marine Sciences, envisions this partnership as a critical first step in extending UMaine’s marine graduate programs statewide.
“The UMaine/GMRI partnership will further expand the expertise that our graduate students can draw upon, as they study various aspects of the Gulf of Maine with scientists at the Portland lab.” Townsend says. “Dr. Pershing brings significant expertise and experience to the University of Maine and the state.”
“It is a major coup for the entire Gulf of Maine region that Dr. Pershing has chosen to bring his expertise in ecosystem modeling to bear on managing our marine resources,” says Don Perkins, GMRI president. “The University of Maine’s support and partnership made it feasible to aspire to attract an accomplished marine scientist with enormous potential to Maine.”
Pershing, who received his Ph.D. in ecology from Cornell in 2001, is a leader in the use of computing technology to model and visualize how the ocean environment influences fish and mammal populations over time and to predict potential future population changes.
“Large changes in the abundance of fish, sudden shifts in the migration of whales, and changes in weather are some of the major changes scientists, fishermen, and New Englanders in general have experienced over the last few years”, notes Pershing. “I look forward to using my expertise to work with GMRI, UMaine and others to address problems that are important to the broader Gulf of Maine community.”
With funding from NOAA and NASA, Pershing is currently leading a project to use plankton abundance models to forecast possible feeding areas of the endangered right whale. He is working with the Cornell Theory Center to develop the computational tools to synthesize multiple data sources and deliver information in a timely manner to right whale researchers and managers.
Pershing will complement expertise that exists on UMaine’s faculty and within GMRI’s expanding team of marine scientists, who have expertise in fishery ecology, oceanography, fish behavior/gear design, and resource economics.
Pershing becomes the sixth member of the GMRI research team, eventually expected to consist of ten scientists by the end of this year. He is the first of two UMaine appointments who will be stationed in Portland.
About Gulf of Maine Research Institute
The Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) was established in 1968 to develop pragmatic solutions to complex problems to support the evolution of the Gulf of Maine ecosystem and the human community that depends on it. GMRI accomplishes this by convening the public to discuss, debate and resolve aquatic resource conflicts, conducting unbiased scientific research to improve public understanding of the Gulf of Maine and its watershed, and educating Maine residents and visitors about fresh and saltwater ecosystems.
GMRI’s new facility, located on the Portland, Maine waterfront, provides a neutral, collaborative platform for research partnerships among leading research organizations, the fishing community, and private industry with a focus on fishery ecosystem research. A hybrid marine research and education facility, the Institute is closely linked to the community, strategically focused on the Gulf of Maine bioregion, and complemented by a unique research interface that will engage primary school students and the general public with marine science.
About the UMaine School of Marine Sciences
Formed 10 years ago, the School of Marine Sciences offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the marine sciences, conducts research worldwide on all aspects of the oceans, with particular emphasis placed on interdisciplinary problems. The School aims to develop specific scientific understanding of the marine environment that is Maine’s heritage, to integrate and communicate that knowledge through educational programs and to apply it toward stewardship of sustainable marine resources. The school is comprised of some 55 faculty members from various academic disciplines, and has facilities in Orono, Walpole and Franklin, Me.