I founded the Sustainable Seas Institute (SSI) to extend the same rigor I bring to materials research in the Performance Materials Laboratory to the health of the world’s oceans and freshwater systems. As Founder, Chief Scientist, and Chairman of the Board, I lead a team of scientists, educators, students, and staff dedicated to protecting aquatic ecosystems through research, collaboration, and education. SSI’s field research program, centered on the research vessel R/V Dawn, is an integral part of my own field work at PML and gives our students hands-on experience collecting environmental samples around the world.
Our Mission
The Sustainable Seas Institute works toward a future where healthy and resilient aquatic ecosystems thrive, supporting biodiversity and human well-being for generations to come. SSI advances this mission through three core programs: scientific research into freshwater and ocean dynamics, water quality, and ocean contamination; education programs for undergraduates and outreach to local communities; and field operations built around expeditions aboard R/V Dawn.
Expeditions in the Caribbean and South Pacific
R/V Dawn has carried SSI research teams on expeditions throughout the Caribbean and South Pacific, sampling coastal waters and reefs for signs of contamination and supporting the Institute’s broader ocean water quality research.
Trans-Arctic Field Research
In September 2025, our team conducted a trans-Arctic research expedition aboard the icebreaker Le Commandant Charcot, sampling seawater along a transect from Svalbard to Nome, Alaska, that crossed the geographic North Pole, the Magnetic North Pole, and the Arctic Pole of Inaccessibility, the point in the ocean farthest from any landmass. This work, conducted with collaborators at the University of Colorado Boulder, UNC Charlotte’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the Sustainable Seas Institute, is in preparation for submission to Nature Water.
Data from this expedition and others contributed to a published dataset compiling PFAS (“forever chemical”) concentrations across 11 inland watersheds and 14 seas and oceans, developed in collaboration with researchers at the University of Rhode Island.
Global Ocean Contamination Science
In May 2026, SSI launched the Global Ocean Contamination Science (GOCOS) platform, an open platform for compiling and sharing ocean contamination data worldwide. GOCOS reflects SSI’s broader commitment to open, collaborative science, giving researchers, educators, and policymakers a shared resource for tracking contamination trends across the world’s oceans.
To learn more about the Institute’s research, education, and field programs, or to get involved, visit the Sustainable Seas Institute website.