Dear Fellow Members of the Society for Marine Mammalogy,
The Society for Marine Mammalogy established the Kenneth S. Norris Lifetime Achievement Award in honor of the Society’s founding President and one of the most influential figures in our history, Dr. Kenneth S. Norris. The award recognizes exemplary lifetime contributions to science and society through research, teaching, and service in marine mammalogy. It is granted every second year, in association with the Society’s biennial conference.
Nominees are provided by the Society’s President, President-elect, Scientific Advisory Committee Chair, and Editor of Marine Mammal Science. The recipient is then selected by vote of the Board of Governors of the Society and the Board of Associate Editors of Marine Mammal Science.
I am pleased and honored to announce that Dr. Sue E. Moore is the 2026 recipient of the Kenneth S. Norris Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing her outstanding career and lasting contributions to marine mammal science.
Dr. Sue E. Moore reflects on four decades of research and discovery in the Arctic, where her work has helped reveal the vital role of marine mammals in a rapidly changing ecosystem.
Dr. Moore is a research scientist at the University of Washington, a Science Advisor to the Washington State Academy of Sciences, and a Commissioner of the Marine Mammal Commission in the U.S., appointed in 2022. Over the past 40 years, her research has focussed on cetacean ecology, acoustics, and natural history, particularly in the Arctic. She is a pioneer in using marine mammals as ecosystem sentinels in this rapidly changing region.
Dr. Moore holds a BA from UC Santa Cruz, an MSc from San Diego State University, and a PhD from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She previously held senior leadership positions at NOAA, including Program Leader and Director of the National Marine Mammal Laboratory, and Senior Scientist in the Office of Science and Technology. She has also been a long-standing contributor to the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission, including Chair of the Environmental Concerns Working Group from 2008 to 2012.
Dr. Moore will deliver a keynote presentation at the 26th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals in San Juan, Puerto Rico, this October. Please join me in congratulating her on this well-deserved honor!
Sincerely,
Jeremy Kiszka
President, Society for Marine Mammalogy