UMaine Professor Elected Vice-President/President of Phycological Society of America

Contacts: Susan Brawley, (207) 581-2973; Aimee Dolloff, (207) 581-3777
University of Maine marine sciences Professor Susan Brawley has been elected as the vice-president/president elect of the Phycological Society of America for 2010. She will serve as President of the Society in 2011.


“I am pleased and honored to serve my research field in this position because of the strength of the Society and its potential to contribute even more to important scientific discoveries and policy in the future,” says Brawley.

The Phycological Society of America was founded in 1946 to promote research and teaching in all fields of the biology of algae. The society publishes the Journal of

Phycology, which Brawley served as editor from 1996-2001, and the Phycological Newsletter.
The Journal is the highest-impact scholarly publication in the field of phycology and one of the top impact journals in all of marine and freshwater biology.


Brawley’s research interests include reproductive biology and ecology, algal genomics, and invasive marine species.

During her term as vice president, Brawley says she will begin to plan and implement the major objectives she has for when she becomes president for the society, which include bringing the best algal science and scientists to the table in federal policy related to climate change, biofuels, prevention of biological invasions, aquaculture, and pharmaceutical discovery.

She also hopes to engage members of the society in stronger public education about the algae, ranging from their importance as oxygen producers for the planet to their intrinsic beauty and interest.