Tuba Özkan-Haller, dean of Oregon State University’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, has been named co-chair of the National Academies’ 2025-2035 Decadal Survey of Ocean Sciences.

The survey committee will advise the National Science Foundation’s Division of Ocean Sciences on investments in research, infrastructure and workforce development.

The group’s charge includes developing a research and infrastructure strategy to advance understanding of the ocean’s role in Earth’s system and the sustainable blue economy. The committee also will produce an interim report on the resources and infrastructure available to address high priority research questions that require scientific ocean drilling.

Özkan-Haller and co-chair James A. Yoder, dean emeritus of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, will lead a committee of 19 scientists in the work. Their first meeting is scheduled for June 21-22 in Washington, D.C.

“I’m truly honored to be selected for this important role,” Özkan-Haller said. “As a committee, we will work to enable the ocean science community to identify focused research priorities for the next decade so we can really put some muscle behind advancing them together.”

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, which operate as private nonprofit organizations, provide independent, objective advice to inform policy, spark progress and confront challenging issues.

Özkan-Haller is an internationally noted nearshore oceanographer and coastal engineer. She began her career at OSU in 2001 and was named dean of the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences in March 2023 after serving as acting or interim dean since 2021.

Nationally, she serves as a member on two federal advisory committees: the Hydrographic Survey Review Panel of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the board on Coastal Engineering Research of the Army Corps of Engineers.

-- Michelle Klampe

May 30, 2023