Lawrence Sanford

Larry Sanford served as Vice President for Education at UMCES prior to his retirement in 2026.  He is currently Professor Emeritus at UMCES Horn Point Laboratory. His research interests are in fine sediment transport processes, coastal and estuarine physical oceanography, waves, and turbulence, with a special interest in interactions between fluid flow and estuarine ecology. Larry has served on the Chesapeake Bay Program Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee, the Bay Program Modeling Subcommittee and Sediment Workgroup, and various other Chesapeake Bay advisory committees. He previously served on the Steering Committee of the International Cohesive Sediment Transport Association.

Larry joined UMCES Horn Point Laboratory in 1984 as a postdoc and rose through the faculty ranks to Professor in 2001. He has authored or co-authored 67 peer-reviewed publications, served as major advisor for 12 graduate students, served on 75 other graduate committees, advised 12 undergraduate research interns, and taught 13 graduate courses. At UMCES, he has served on the Faculty Senate, chaired the Environmental Sustainability Council, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Collaborative, and chaired a number of UMCES review committees. He has received the UMCES President’s Award for Excellence in Application of Science, the Kirby Laing Fellowship of the School of Ocean Sciences, University of Wales, Bangor, and the USM MEES Program Teaching Award.