Introduction
In 2000, PICES Governing Council approved the establishment of a new award, the Wooster Award. The award is named in honour of Professor Warren S. Wooster, a principal founder and the first Chairman of PICES, and a world-renowned researcher and statesman in the area of climate variability and fisheries production. The award is given annually to an individual who has made significant scientific contributions to North Pacific marine science, such as understanding and predicting the role of human and climate interactions on marine ecosystem production.
The award consists of a plaque with the recipient’s name engraved on it. A large plaque is maintained at the PICES Secretariat with the names of all the award winners over the years. The recipient will also receive financial support to attend the PICES Annual Meeting at which the award is given.
Nominations
The main criteria for selection are sustained excellence in research, teaching, administration or a combination of the three in the area of North Pacific marine science. Special consideration is given to individuals who have worked in integrating the disciplines of marine science. Individuals who were or are currently actively involved in PICES activities are preferred but the award may be given to any suitable candidate, including those from outside PICES member countries.
Nominations are accepted annually from the PICES community although the award may not be given every year if a suitable candidate is not found. The Selection Committee consists of the PICES Science Board and the PICES Chairman, and the Award Presentation Ceremony takes place at an Opening Session during the PICES Annual Meeting. Individuals who are not chosen for the Wooster Award when nominated are eligible to be re-nominated, providing that the nomination documents are updated.
Call for Nominations
Nominations for the Wooster Award are accepted annually from NOVEMBER 1st of the preceding year, to MARCH 31st of the award year. Nominations, along with supporting documentation, should be sent to the PICES Executive Secretary (Sonia.Batten@pices.int) by MARCH 31. Late nominations will not be accepted.
2023
Steven Bograd (USA)
At the 2023 PICES Annual Meeting, it was announced that Dr. Steven Bograd was the recipient of the 23nd Wooster Award.
Steven Bograd, a senior oceanographer at the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center in Monterey, CA, has been part of the PICES community his entire career, since attending the 1st PICES Annual Meeting in Victoria, BC, in 1992. Steven serves as Co-Chair of the PICES flagship science program, FUTURE, and the Advisory Panel in the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (AP-UNDOS Steven also co-leads two United Nations Decade of Ocean Science Programmes (SmartNet and SUPREME) and is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Fisheries Oceanography. Steven’s research interests are in the climate impacts on marine ecosystems, with a focus on eastern boundary upwelling systems. He has also won 3 NOAA bronze medals in his career. Steven received a B.S. in physics (University of Arizona), a M.S. in atmospheric sciences (University of Washington), and a PhD in physical oceanography (University of British Columbia). He did a post-doc at Scripps Institution of Oceanography before joining NOAA in 2001. Steven was born and grew up in Mississippi, USA, but has spent most of his adult life on the West Coast.
PICES-2023 Opening Ceremony: Awards | PICES Press 2024, Vol. 32, No. 1, page 7 |
2022
Harold (Hal) Batchelder (USA)
At the 2022 PICES Annual Meeting, it was announced that Dr. Harold (Hal) Batchelder was the recipient of the 22nd Wooster Award.
Dr. Harold P. Batchelder, affectionately known in PICES as "Hal." Hal received his pHD from Oregon State University in 1986 under Charlie Miller, using zooplankton samples from the subarctic Pacific. Hal’s long involvement in PICES began with his attendance at PICES-1993 in Seattle, shortly after PICES’ inception. He later became involved with many expert groups, including as Co-Chair of the Climate Change and Carrying Capacity program (4 C’s) member of Science Board for eight years, and U.S. delegate to the Governing Council in 2012–2013. Hal joined PICES as Deputy Executive Secretary in 2014 – a role he filled until his retirement in 2021. Hal has published over fifty frequently-cited journal articles in top-ranked international journals, and, on behalf of both GLOBEC and PICES, has significantly contributed to, and collaborated with, colleagues to produce several overview and synthesis articles that collectively contribute to our understanding of the world's oceans, and how best to facilitate our marine science initiatives to forward our understanding.
Biography (YouTube) | 2023 PICES Press (Biography, Science Board Citation, Acceptance Remarks) |
2021
Sinjae Yoo (Korea)
At the 2021 PICES Virtual Annual Meeting, it was announced that Dr. Sinjae Yoo (Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST)) was the recipient of the 21st Wooster Award.
Dr. Sinjae Yoo is a biological oceanographer who served as a research scientist at the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST), based in Busan, Korea, for more than 30 years. He retired from KIOST in 2020 and is currently a consultant for the International Cooperation Department at KIOST. He has also been a professor at the Korea Maritime and Ocean University and the University of Science and Technology, Korea. Sinjae has also served as the President of the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) since 2020. Since joining KORDI in 1988, (which is now KIOST) Sinjae’s scientific interests have been primary production and phytoplankton dynamics, which he has studied in Korean waters. In the early 1990s, he became fascinated by the synoptic views provided by remote sensing and began to use satellite data to study phytoplankton. Recently, he has expanded his major research direction to the theoretical study of ecological interactions.
2020
Hiroaki Saito (Japan)
At the 2020 PICES Virtual Annual Meeting, it was announced that Dr. Hiroaki Saito (The University of Tokyo, Japan) was the recipient of the 20th Wooster Award.
Dr. Hiroaki Saito graduated from Tohoku University in 1986 and started his scientific career at Hokkaido National Fisheries Research Institute, Japan Fisheries Agency studying squid in the Western North Pacific. In 1990, he moved to the Biological Oceanography Section and started biological and ecological studies of copepods. In 2001, he moved to Tohoku National Fisheries Research Institute and later in 2014 he joined the Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute at the prestigious University of Tokyo as a Professor. Hiroaki has been involved in many organizations as a member and as a leader, including the following: BIOCOSMOS project (1990-1998); Co-Founder, A-line Monitoring, Oyashio Region (1990-); Subarctic Gyre Experiment (SAGE) (1997-2002);VENFISH northwestern Pacific (1998-2002); Core Member, SEEDS (2001-2004); Project Leader, Deep-Sea Ecosystem and Exploitation (DEEP) (2002-2006); Project Leader, Population Outbreak of Marine Life (POMAL) (2007-2012); and, Leader, Study of Kuroshio Ecosystem Dynamic for Sustainable Fisheries (SKED) (2011-2021. In addition to his work at PICES, Dr. Hiroaki Saito also has worked tirelessly for several professional organizations, most notably: IGBP/SCOR, IMBER, CLIVAR, and the Science Council of Japan. He has served terms as a member of the Science Steering Committee of IGBP/SCOR IMBER, and has been on the Editorial Board journals: Progress in Oceanography (2003-2010), Plankton and Benthos Research (2005-2011), Fisheries Oceanography (2007-2013) and Journal of Oceanography (2011-2019). Since 2014, Dr. Saito has been a member of the editorial board of Frontiers in Marine Science.
2019
R. Ian Perry (Canada)
At the 2019 PICES Annual Meeting in Victoria, Canada, it was announced that Dr. R. Ian Perry (Pacific Biological Station, Canada) was the recipient of the 19th Wooster Award.
Dr. Ian Perry is the Head of the Plankton and Fisheries Oceanography Program of the Pacific Region of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Ian is a world-renowned scientist who has spent a productive career advancing our understanding of North Pacific oceanography, and the impact of climate on fish distributions and recruitment. He has long been a leader in PICES, serving as Chair of Science Board and as Chair of the first PICES NPESR working group. He also served as an executive committee member of the PICES-GLOBEC Implementation panel and contributed to the science plan of the PICES-GLOBEC Program on Climate Change and Carrying Capacity. In the International GLOBEC Program, he served as the first Vice-Chairman from 1996-2002 and Chairman of the Scientific Steering Committee from 2008-2010. He also co-chaired GLOBEC Focus 4 Working Group on socio-ecological systems from 2002-2007. After the conclusion of GLOBEC, he became a founding member of the Human Dimensions Working Group (HDWG) of the IGBP/SCOR IMBER program to clarify what human institutions can do to adapt to global changes. His expertise in integrating natural science and social science in the IMBER HDWG resulted in him contributing to the development of PICES’s human dimension activities. He has been a contributing or lead author to multiple PICES Scientific Reports, including a recent one coedited with Dr. Mitsutaku Makino on Marine Ecosystems and Human Well-being: The PICES-Japan MAFF MarWeb Project.
2018
Vyacheslav B. Lobanov (Russia)
At the 2018 PICES Annual Meeting in Yokohama, Japan, it was announced that Dr. Vyacheslav (Slava) B. Lobanov (V.I.Il’ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute, FEB RAS, Russia) was the recipient of the 18th Wooster Award.
Dr. Slava Lobanov is the Director of the V.I.Il’ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute (POI), Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, the leading Russian marine institute for Pacific studies. Slava is a world-renowned oceanographer who has spent a productive career advancing our understanding of North Pacific oceanography and promoting international collaboration in marine science. He has long been a leader in PICES, serving as Chair of POC—the first Russian Chair of a committee. He also is a Co-Chair of AP-CREAMS, a member of the FUTURE Scientific Steering Committee, a Member of the MONITOR Committee and a member on several Working Groups.
2017
Suam Kim (Korea)
At the 2017 PICES Annual Meeting in Vladivostok, Russia, it was announced that Dr. Suam Kim (Pukyong University, Korea) was the recipient of the 17th Wooster Award.
Dr. Suam Kim is a professor of the College of Fisheries Science under the Department of Marine Biology at Pukyong National University in Busan, Korea. His career in examining fishery resources worldwide has spanned more than 35 years, including his chairmanship of international organizations related to science programs on fisheries and ocean studies such as PICES and NPAFC. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles on topics of climate change, fishery resource trends, ecosystem changes and forecasting of fish stocks. He has published 6 books in Korean, and contributed chapters to 28 books domestically and globally.
2016
Sei-Ichi Saitoh (Japan)
At the 2016 PICES Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA, USA, it was announced that Dr. Sei-Ichi Saitoh (Hokkaido University, Japan) was the recipient of the 16th Wooster Award.
Dr. Sei-Ichi Saitoh is a director and professor at the Hokkaido University Arctic Research Center, and a professor at the Graduate School of Fisheries Sciences at Hokkaido University, where he conducts research, advises graduate students, and teaches courses in satellite oceanography, marine-GIS, and fisheries oceanography. He has over 30-years' experience as a satellite oceanographer, fisheries oceanographer, GIS specialist, and consultant on fisheries issues in the North Pacific Ocean and its adjacent seas, including impacts of climate change. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles
2015
Anne B. Hollowed (USA)
At the 2015 PICES Annual Meeting in Qingdao, China, it was announced that Dr. Anne B. Hollowed (National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, USA) was the recipient of the 15th Wooster Award.
Anne’s scientific career started out with the assessment of groundfish stocks in the North Pacific and Bering Sea, but this quickly expanded to include impacts of fishing and climate change on marine ecosystems. She played a leadership role in the development and execution of the PICES/GLOBEC Climate Change and Carrying Capacity Program (the 4 Cs Program), the ICES/PICES Section on Climate Change Effects on Marine Ecosystems and the PICES FUTURE program, all in addition to her contributions to several important national research programs.
2014
Fangli Qiao (China)
At the 2014 PICES Annual Meeting in Yeosu, Korea, it was announced that Dr. Fangli Qiao (First Institute of Oceanography State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao) was the recipient of the 14th Wooster Award.
Fangli provided important scientific support for several public health issues, including identifying the causes of algal blooms and accumulations in the Qingdao coastal area of the Yellow Sea in 2008, and the spread of radiation from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant in March 2011. In addition to his scientific achievements, Fangli has made substantial contributions to administration of science and professional service. As Deputy Director General and more recently Director General he has been in charge of international cooperation for FIO for nearly 10 years.
2013
Vera Alexander (USA)
At the 2013 PICES Annual Meeting in Nanaimo, BC, Canada, it was announced that Prof. Vera Alexander (University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF)) was the recipient of the 13th Wooster Award for a career of sustained excellence in marine science that has spanned nearly 50 years.
Vera was a scientific pioneer. She was among the first to use the N-15 isotope to study nitrogen fixation in lakes. Vera is also known worldwide for her pioneering research on the role of sea ice in the Bering Sea, by discovering that the ice was a critical factor determining spring productivity in the arctic region. The importance of Vera’s work on Arctic phytoplankton and sea ice algae cannot be overstated. Vera is known internationally and deeply appreciated for her administration of many regional, national, and international marine science programs. A crowning achievement in Vera’s career was the construction and launch of the 261-foot research vessel (R/V) Sikuliaq, one of the most advanced research vessels in the world.
2012
Richard Beamish (Canada)
At the 2012 PICES Annual Meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, it was announced that Dr. Richard Beamish (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Biological Station) was the recipient of the 12th Wooster Award.
Along with receiving the prestigious Order of Canada and other numerous national and provincial awards, Dick has also been recognized internationally, such as by the American Fisheries Society for the sustained excellence in marine fisheries biology, by the International Panel on Climate Change for his significant contributions that helped the Panel receive the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007, and by the Sea Fisheries Institute in Gdynia, Poland, for outstanding scientific achievements.
2011
Bernard Megrey USA)
At the 2011 PICES Annual Meeting in Khabarovsk, Russia, it was announced that the late Dr. Bernard Megrey (NOAA, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, U.S.A.) was the recipient of the 11th Wooster Award.
Bern was highly regarded regionally, nationally and internationally in the field of marine fishery science professionals.
2010
Jeffrey Polovina USA)
At the 2010 PICES Annual Meeting in Portland, U.S.A., it was announced that Dr. Jeffrey Polovina (NOAA, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science, U.S.A.) was the recipient of the 10th Wooster Award.
Dr. Polovina’s groundbreaking contributions to climate and marine ecosystem research epitomize the PICES approach of integrating oceanographic factors and biological modeling to significantly advance ecosystem management
The scope of Dr. Polovina’s innovative scientific research is wide and deep. With over 115 publications to his name, Dr. Polovina has demonstrated incredible breadth in his theoretical, analytical, and direct approaches to tackle some of the most challenging questions about marine ecosystems and the species that inhabit them.
2008
Charles B. Miller (USA)
At the 2008 PICES Annual Meeting in Dalian, PR China, it was announced that Dr. Charles B. Miller (Oregon State University, U.S.A.) was the recipient of the 8th Wooster Award.
Dr. Charles Miller is a nationally and internationally distinguished biological oceanographer specializing in studies of zooplankton.
2007
Kenneth L. Denman (Canada)
At the 2007 PICES Annual Meeting in Victoria, Canada, it was announced that Dr. Kenneth L. Denman (Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis) was the recipient of the 7th Wooster Award.
Dr. Denman is world-renowned interdisciplinary ocean scientist, who has authored more than 75 primary journal articles, book chapters or review papers on air-sea interaction, lower trophic-level biological production, and the role of the ocean in the global climate system.
2006
Makoto Kashiwai (Japan)
At the 2006 PICES Annual Meeting in Yokohama, Japan, it was announced that Dr. Makoto Kashiwai (Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan) was the recipient of the 6th Wooster Award.
Dr. Makoto Kashiwai is an active leader in fisheries oceanography, on theoretical and observational studies of the structure and variability of the Oyashio, and has contributed greatly to the goal of international cooperation and collaboration on North Pacific Ocean research in general, and through PICES specifically.
2005
Daniel Ware (Canada)
At the 2005 PICES Annual Meeting in Vladivostok, Russia, it was announced that the late Dr. Daniel Ware (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) was the recipient of the 5th Wooster Award.
Dr. Ware was Adjunct Professor at both the Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia. Following his retirement from Fisheries and Oceans Canada in 2000, he was the President of Aquatic Ecosystem Associates, and Chairman of the Science Panel of the Herring Conservation and Research Society. Dr. Ware was the first PICES Science Board Chairman.
2004
Paul H. LeBlond (Canada)
At the 2004 PICES Annual Meeting in Honolulu, U.S.A., it was announced that Dr. Paul H. LeBlond (University of British Columbia, Canada) was the recipient of the 4th Wooster Award.
Dr. Paul LeBlond has had a distinguished scientific, educational and public service career, which has contributed to the marine sciences generally and specifically to many of the goals of PICES.
2003
William G. Pearcy (USA)
At the 2003 PICES Annual Meeting in Seoul, Korea, it was announced that Dr. William (Bill) G. Pearcy (Oregon State University, U.S.A.) was the recipient of the 3rd Wooster Award.
Dr. William Pearcy is a world-renowned authority on many aspects of biological oceanography, in particular his extensive work on fishes and squids in the North Pacific.
2002
Yutaka Nagata (Japan)
At the 2002 PICES Annual Meeting in Qingdao, PR China, it was announced that Dr. Yutaka Nagata (University of Tokyo, Japan) was the recipient of the 2nd Wooster Award.
Dr. Nagata has demonstrated sustained excellence in science, teaching and administration of marine science in the North Pacific region.
2001
Michael M. Mullin (USA)
At the 2001 PICES Annual Meeting in in Victoria, Canada, it was announced that the late Dr. Michael M. Mullin (Scripps Institution of Oceanography, U.S.A.) was the recipient of the 1st Wooster Award.
Mike’s excellence in research and teaching, and his broad involvement in North Pacific marine science spanned many nations, disciplines and scales.