Back in Australia, A.D.J. “Tony” Haymet and his colleagues used to look at research by Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) with envy.
Now Haymet not only has a closer look ” he is guiding Scripps as its new director.
On behalf of the University of California Regents, Chancellor Mary Anne Fox announced his appointment at the end of August. Also, he is vice chancellor for marine sciences, dean of the graduate school for marine sciences and a tenured professor at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).
“His experience as an interdisciplinary leader, scholar, author and researcher will be invaluable to UCSD as we expand our work globally and locally in marine sciences,” Fox said.
Haymet, who took over from former director Charles Kennel on Sept. 12, comes from Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) where he was in charge of oceanography.
“I’ve basically been running a smaller version of SIO on the other side of the world,” he said.
In the coming months, he plans to start projects that work toward his overall goals: to teach the next generation of oceanographers and marine scientists, to create an environment where scientific research thrives, and to demonstrate the benefit of atmospheric, oceanic and earth research to the local community.
The most important goal, however, is the value and importance of education for the next generation of oceanographers. SIO is proud of its excellent faculty comprised of many world-renowned oceanographers ” at some point in their career, most of the world’s oceanographers have worked there. In the last five years, it is this type of excellence that allowed SIO to increase the number of graduate students accepted into its program.
“We feel there is a great need for people educated in this area,” Haymet said.
Although some of the graduates from SIO become professors of oceanography, many become policymakers in Washington, D.C., educators, marine experts in business or active in the many other applications of marine science in society. All graduate students, regardless of their chosen career, leave SIO with an appreciation for the oceans and atmosphere ” training that prepares them for jobs that serve the community in many different ways.
Regarding his goals, Haymet said that issues in the local community would continue to influence SIO research projects. He referred to the coast as “in danger of being robbed to death.” Although billions of dollars in the California economy are currently generated by fisheries, surfing, swimming and tourism, this can only be sustained if the ecology and environment are closely monitored. SIO will continue to partner with other universities and California state agencies to bring the “best science to bear on the problems of coastal California,” Haymet said.
The response of Southern California to global warming concerns will also remain a focus of SIO. State government is eager to support the research surrounding global warming issues, but Haymet said that SIO needs to “respond in a timely way” to this support. Lack of snow pack and melt water for sources of drinking water, among many other urban and agricultural concerns, make government support and a timely response to this support essential.
Partnerships and collaborations will continue to fuel the speed and quality of research at SIO. Haymet cited Roger Revelle, one of his predecessors as director of Scripps, as someone who realized the importance of the neighbors to SIO in cultivating these partnerships ” most importantly, a full-service university. In addition to expertise and research support of many scientists in related fields, UCSD Medical Center provides applications of the research developed at SIO. These applications are developed even further to permeate the business community. In the future, SIO would like to partner with the business community to offer a Ph.D./M.B.A. program. Students would conduct intense research at SIO and conclude their work in business at UCSD. This would facilitate the applications of science in more mainstream society and solidify partnerships and collaborations between scientists and the business community.
“We’re in the partnership business,” Haymet said.
Among many other achievements, awards and honors, Haymet holds a Ph.D. in chemistry and has authored 160 peer-reviewed articles in his field. He was on the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Utah and the University of Houston. At the latter, he was a distinguished university professor of chemistry and chair of the physical chemistry division. Trips to Antarctica have molded his career and piqued his interest in the nucleation phenomenon and fish antifreeze proteins.
In the coming months, Haymet will announce specific projects that relate to his stated goals.