Hello Good Colleagues!

It is with great pleasure that I remind us all that Dr. Helene Marsh has been awarded the Norris Award for 2019. This reminder comes as we prepare for the World Marine Mammal Conference, where Dr. Marsh will be speaking at the Closing Ceremony!

Dr. Marsh is an Emeritus Professor and Dean of Graduate Research Studies at James Cook University in North Queensland, Australia. She conducted her graduate studies at James Cook University. The focus of her research has been dugong population ecology, and has been committed to informing interdisciplinary solutions to conservation problems. She is a Fellow of both the Australian Academies of Science and Technological Sciences and Engineering and has chaired the National Threatened Species Scientific Committee of Australia. She also served as the Society for Marine Mammalogy President from 2012-2014.

The Norris Award is a lifetime achievement award, honoring a career of excellence in scientific research on any aspect of marine mammalogy. As the recipient of this award, Dr. Marsh has been invited to present a talk at the World Conference, and to submit a written paper from her lecture for publication in Marine Mammal Science. The award also includes a life-time honorary membership to the Society.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Marsh on this well-deserved honor. We look forward to hearing her talk at the World Marine Mammal Conference next week and to reading her paper in Marine Mammal Science!

Warm regards,
D. Ann Pabst
President, Society for Marine Mammalogy