Francisco P. Chavez

Francisco Chavez is a biological oceanographer who studies how climate variability and change impact ocean ecosystems on local to basin scales. He was born and raised in Peru, has a BS from Humboldt State and a PhD from Duke University. He is a founding member of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) where he has pioneered time series research and the development of new instruments and systems to make this type of research sustainable.  Most recently Chavez has become interested in environmental DNA. Chavez has over 275 peer-reviewed publications with 15 in Nature and Science. He is past member of the US National Science Foundation Geosciences Advisory Committee, the Programme Board for Group on Earth Observations, Blue Planet Steering Committee, Scientific steering committee for OceanSites, a current member of the Executive Committee for the Central and Northern California Coastal Ocean Observing System, the Science Advisory Team for the California Ocean Protection Council, Advisory Committee for Instituto del Mar del Peru, Scientific steering committee for the Global Ocean Oxygen Network and the Ocean Biomolecular Observing Network. Chavez is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of the Sciences, honored for distinguished research on the impact of climate variability on oceanic ecosystems and global carbon cycling; and of the American Geophysical Union, honored for advancing fundamental knowledge of the physical-biological coupling between Pacific Decadal Oscillations, productivity, and fisheries. He was awarded a Doctor Honoris Causa by the Universidad Pedro Ruiz Gallo in Peru in recognition of his distinguished scientific career and for contributing to elevate academic and cultural levels of university communities in particular and society in general. Chavez is the 2014 recipient of the Ed Ricketts Memorial award.