By OSU News Service
Karina Nielsen, the leader of a marine science center at San Francisco State University and an Oregon State University alumna, has been named director of Oregon Sea Grant, an OSU-based program that supports marine science, education and outreach in Newport and Corvallis.
Nielsen, who earned a doctorate in zoology from OSU in 1998, will start her new position June 1 and oversee a staff of about 40. She plans to split her time between OSU’s campus in Corvallis and the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, where Oregon Sea Grant runs a K-12 marine education program as well as a public education facility.
She replaces Shelby Walker, who was appointed to a senior leadership position with the National Science Foundation in September. Dave Hansen has been serving as interim director.
Nielsen is a biology professor at SFSU and executive director of the university’s Estuary and Ocean Science Center, which is dedicated to enhancing public engagement with marine science and developing solutions to environmental problems confronting coastal communities.
Nielsen is a marine ecologist whose research focuses on the ecology, oceanography and biogeochemistry of ecosystems at the edge of the sea. She has been a science adviser to California’s Ocean Protection Council since 2008 and a member of the governing council of the Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System since 2010. In 2017, she was named a fellow of the California Academy of Sciences, a group of more than 400 scientists who have made notable contributions in natural science fields.
Prior to joining SFSU in 2014, she was a biology professor at Sonoma State University for 11 years.
Nielsen earned her doctoral degree from Oregon State while working in the lab of Jane Lubchenco and Bruce Menge, studying the influence of nutrients, herbivores, and wave exposure on the structure of tidepools.
“I am interested in the issues confronting natural resource managers, fishermen, Indigenous tribes, conservationists, and others; and collaborating to develop and support evidence-based solutions that are equitable, practical and sustainable,” she said. “The Oregon coast is blessed with bountiful natural resources and extraordinary beauty, and we want to sustain these for future generations.”
She also wants to focus on helping communities adapt to new realities, including climate change, and related phenomena such as ocean acidification, low oxygen in the ocean, shifting distribution of species; and to the opportunities and challenges associated with the growth of renewable marine energy.
“Karina Nielsen is an experienced leader with a strong background in research, policy and outreach and deep knowledge of the issues Oregon is facing,” said Irem Tumer, Oregon State’s vice president for research.