NCEAS Welcomes New Director, Ben Halpern

NCEAS welcomes Ben Halpern as new Director of NCEAS!

On July 1, current NCEAS Director Frank Davis will pass the leadership baton to Ben Halpern and return to his research and teaching at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. Frank is not leaving NCEAS for good; he will continue as Executive Director of the LTER Network Communications Office, which is operated by NCEAS.

Ben has deep roots at NCEAS. His first NCEAS experience was in 1998 -- as a graduate student participating in a synthesis working group spearheaded by Jane Lubchenco. In the intervening 18 years, Ben has grown into a leading force for science-informed ocean conservation. Along the way, he has shaped NCEAS, and NCEAS has influenced him. He has led or participated in more than 25 working groups, including one led by Mike Beck of The Nature Conservancy which brought together academic ecologists with ocean managers, helping to lay the groundwork for Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP) working groups.

Ben’s own work in marine ecology and conservation planning – largely synthetic, applied, and interdisciplinary—reflects the NCEAS mission. He collaborates regularly with economists, anthropologists, decision scientists, and ecologists, while focusing on the effective and efficient protection and sustainable use of marine resources.

In Frank's announcement to the NCEAS community about the transition, he reflected that Ben’s longstanding commitment to ecological synthesis is accompanied by a wealth of fresh energy and ideas.

"Looking forward, I hope to harness the optimism and growth at NCEAS to expand the NCEAS postdoc community, increase our training activities in data sciences and informatics, and welcome more Visiting Fellows to NCEAS."
 

       – Ben Halpern, NCEAS Director

We are grateful to Frank Davis for his two rounds of service over the past 20 years - as the first Deputy Director of NCEAS between 1995 and 1998, and as Director between 2012 and 2016. Frank has been instrumental in transitioning NCEAS to a new business model and more diverse funding base.