In recognition of outstanding research in the fields of ecology, marine science, and environmental science, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science's Dr. Michael Kemp has been awarded the University System of Maryland’s highest honor, the Regents’ Faculty Award for Excellence. A leader in his field, Dr. Kemp has had a major influence on our knowledge of why the Chesapeake Bay and coastal ecosystems around the world have degraded and how they can be recovered.
"Dr. Michael Kemp is one of the most outstanding systems ecologists in the world working on coastal marine ecosystems," said Dr. Donald Boesch, president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. "After a long and productive career and many seminal scientific contributions, this recognition is very well deserved."
A world leader in conducting research on the ecology of estuaries, Dr. Kemp has made significant contributions to the understanding of nutrient cycling in estuaries, the ecology and physiology of submerged aquatic vegetation, and the metabolism of estuarine ecosystems, as well as the causes of hypoxic waters and declines in aquatic plants in estuaries. He also has a distinguished record of teaching and mentoring students so that this broad knowledge has been passed on to many graduate students.
"For over 35 years, he has led his field, conducting cutting-edge research that has influenced our understanding and management of the Chesapeake Bay, as well as estuaries around the world," said Dr. Michael Roman, Director of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science's Horn Point Laboratory.
Working out of the Horn Point Laboratory in Cambridge, Maryland, Dr. Kemp's research on nitrogen cycling in the 1980s and 1990s contributed to the global understanding of the importance of sediments in nutrient cycling. His research has made substantial contributions to understanding the global increase in coastal hypoxia and how nutrient reductions can lead to improvements in water quality. His more recent work on the Bay's "dead zone" of oxygen-deprived water identified thresholds that, once achieved, could result in more rapid recovery as nutrient pollution is reduced.
Dr. Kemp has been invited to collaborate with scientists working in Australia, China, Denmark and Mexico. He serves on the editorial boards of two scientific journals and has organized and led several national and international symposia on estuaries. He recently was the co-recipient (with Dr. Walter Boynton) of one of the most prestigious awards in his field of research, the Odum Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation.
The Board of Regents Faculty Awards, established in 1995, publicly recognizes distinguished performance by educators and researchers within the University System of Maryland. Award categories include: Collaboration, mentoring, public service, teaching, research, scholarship, and creative activity. Recipients are given $1,000 and a plaque of recognition for the honor during a ceremony at the University System of Maryland in Frostburg, Maryland.
The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science is renowned for its groundbreaking research on coastal ecosystems and boasts a number of globally eminent faculty scholars. Dr. Michael Kemp is the eighth faculty member to be honored with the Regents’ Faculty Award for Excellence, joining Drs. Patricia Glibert, Rodger Harvey, Ed Houde, Tom Malone, Allen Place, David Secor, and Diane Stoecker.
