Introduction
In 2019, the Governing Council approved the establishment of a new PICES award, the Zhu-Peterson Early Career Scientist Award. The award is named in honor of Professor Zhu and Dr. Peterson, two marine scientists who strongly encouraged early career scientists to become engaged in PICES. Professor Mingyuan Zhu of the First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, China, trained many graduate students and young scientists, who carry on his rich legacy of honest enthusiasm for cooperative approaches to marine science research. He led many national and international projects, including studies of environmental carrying capacity, eutrophication and shellfish toxins, and sustainable mariculture. Dr. William (Bill) Peterson of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center of NOAA, USA, was cherished by his students, technicians, and PICES early career scientists who regarded him as “a great teacher, and a fun, humble and inspiring mentor”. For many, the greatest benefit of working with Bill was expanding their research vision and expertise into areas such as zooplankton ecology, fisheries oceanography, and climate change. Both Zhu and Peterson passed away far too early during their careers in ocean science. PICES honours the memories of their contributions with this Award.
The Zhu-Peterson ECS Award may be given annually to an individual who has performed innovative research at the frontier of science relevant to the PICES mission as set out in the Convention:
- to promote and coordinate marine scientific research in order to advance scientific knowledge of the area concerned and of its living resources, including but not necessarily limited to research with respect to the ocean environment and its interactions with land and atmosphere, its role in and response to global weather and climate change, its flora, fauna and ecosystems, its uses and resources, and impacts upon it from human activities;
- to promote the collection and exchange of information and data related to marine scientific research in the area concerned.
Nominations
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 nominee must be in the beginning of his or her independent research career which is defined as: (1) less than 5 years since finishing graduate school or postdoctoral training, whichever comes later, and (2) less than or equal to 38 years of age on the date of nomination. The main criterion for selection is innovative research at the frontiers of ocean science relevant to the mission of the North Pacific Marine Science Organization and society. The individual must be performing research in the PICES region. Special consideration will be given to nominees who have worked in integrating the disciplines of marine science. Individuals who were or are currently actively involved in PICES activities are preferred. The PICES Science Board will serve as the Selection Committee. The Award Presentation Ceremony takes place at an Opening Session during the PICES Annual Meeting and travel support will be provided to the successful nominee. Individuals nominated but not chosen for the Zhu-Peterson Award are eligible to be re-nominated, providing that the nomination documents are updated.
Call for Nominations
Nominations for the Zhu-Peterson Early Career Scientist Award are accepted annually from NOVEMBER 1st of the preceding year, to MARCH 31st of the award year. Nominees are requested to send a complete and correct nomination form, along with supporting documentation for their nomination, to the PICES Executive Secretary (Sonia.Batten@pices.int) by MARCH 31. Late nominations will not be accepted.
2023
Minkyoung Kim (Korea)
At the 2023 PICES Annual Meeting, it was announced that Dr. Minkyoung Kim (Ocean Chemistry at Kyungpook National University) was the recipient of the 4th Zhu-Peterson Award for Early Career Scientists.
Minkyoung received her PhD from Seoul National University on marine biogeochemistry.
She is a
PICES AP-ECOP co-chair and Mentor Task Team Leader,
Korea-ECOP co-chair.
Among Minkyoung's awards are
- Korea LOREAL-UNESCO for Women in Science Awards, Korea (2023)
- King-Munmu’s Ocean awards-Early Career Scientist, Korea (2022)
- The first prize of Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Korea (2021)
- Best PhD dissertation award, The Korean Society of Oceanography (2020)
PICES-2023 Opening Ceremony: Awards | Certificate TBA| PICES Press 2024, Vol. 32, No. 1 TBA|
2022
Matthew Savoca (USA)
At the 2022 PICES Annual Meeting, it was announced that Dr. Matthew Savoca (Stanford University) was the recipient of the 3rd Zhu-Peterson Award for Early Career Scientists.
Matt received his B.S. from Cornell University; and his PhD
from University of California, Davis. He is an interdisciplinary
marine ecologist with interests in marine ecosystem responses
to climate variability & change, cetacean movement and
behavior, biotic impacts of marine debris and pollution, and
he was the winner of the 2018 ‘SciLifeLab Prize for Young
Scientists’ at a Nobel ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden. Matt
is an enthusiastic science communicator, as you can see
from his website: https://matthewsavocaecology.weebly.com/media--presentations.html.
In PICES, Matt was a founding member of PICES WG42
on Indicators of Marine Plastic Pollution, and he is a member
of the Advisory Panel on ECOPs (AP-ECOP).
PICES-2022 Opening Ceremony: Awards (YouTube, from 42:00 min.) | Certificate | PICES Press 2023, Vol. 31, No. 1, page 17 |
2021
Erin Satterthwaite (USA)
At the 2021 PICES Virtual Annual Meeting, it was announced that Dr. Erin Satterthwaite (Scripps Institution of Oceanography) was the recipient of the 2nd Zhu-Peterson Award for Early Career Scientists.
Dr. Satterthwaite received her Ph.D in applied marine ecology and conservation in the Environmental Science and Policy Department at Bodega Marine Laboratory, University of California, Davis in 2018. Her dissertation focused on marine ecosystem dynamics which is crucial knowledge for marine spatial management and conservatio of biodiversity. Since 2019, she has worked as a postdoc for the project of the FutureEarth and National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) “Designing the observing system for the world’s ocean – from microbes to whales” which aimed to design a roadmap for implementation of biological observation in the next decades. Presenting the outcome of this project, she received the PICES MONITOR Best Presentation award for early career scientists in 2019. She published more than 15 scientific papers, being invited to major international events such as at Capitol Hill Ocean Week in 2020. More...
PICES-2021 Opening Ceremony: Awards (YouTube, from 35th min.) | 2021 PICES Press | Certificate | PICES-2021 Presentations
2020
Pengbin Wang (China)
At the 2020 PICES Virtual Annual Meeting, it was announced that Dr. Pengbin Wang (Second Institute of Oceanography (SIO)) was the recipient of the 1st Zhu-Peterson Award for Early Career Scientists.
Dr. Pengbin Wang is an Associate Professor at the Second Institute of Oceanography (SIO) in Hangzhou, China. Dr. Wang received his PhD from Hanyang University (South Korea) in 2016. Dr. Wang is the co-chair of the PICES Section on Harmful Algal Blooms (2019 to present). Beyond PICES, he is a member of the Scientific Steering committee of the UNESCO-IOC-WESTPAC Harmful Algal Bloom Program, and a SSC member of EASTHAB. He serves as an editor of “Ocean Science Journal”. Congratulations to Dr. Wang on being the inaugural recipient of the Zhu-Peterson award.
PICES-2020 Opening Ceremony: Awards | 2021 PICES Press | Certificate | PICES-2020 Presentations