[iris-bulk] ROBERT DETRICK NAMED NSF DIVISION DIRECTOR FOR EARTH SCIENCES

[IRIS]

August 22, 2008

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Geosciences has  
appointed Robert Detrick of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution  
(WHOI) as its new director of the Division of Earth Sciences.

Detrick is currently a senior scientist and vice president for Marine  
Facilities and Operations at WHOI, and will begin his NSF position on  
Nov. 3, 2008.

"We are delighted that Bob Detrick will be joining NSF in this  
important national leadership role," said Tim Killeen, NSF assistant  
director of Geosciences. "This appointment augurs well for the earth  
sciences, and the geosciences in general. I'm looking forward to  
working closely with him."

Detrick is a geophysicist and seismologist. His research has focused  
primarily on the structure and evolution of oceanic crust, the size,  
depth and physical properties of ridge crest magma chambers, and the  
effect of hotspots on the thermal evolution of the lithosphere.

Detrick is a former member and chair of NSF's Advisory Committee for  
Geosciences. He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and a  
former president of its Tectonophysics Section. Detrick has authored  
or co-authored more than 100 papers in the peer-reviewed literature,  
including 14 papers in Nature and Science.

During his tenure at WHOI, he oversaw several large projects,  
including the development of the institution's successful proposal to  
be the implementing organization for the coastal and global components  
of the NSF-funded Ocean Observatories Initiative, and the  
institution's effort to design and build a replacement human occupied  
vehicle.

Detrick joined the WHOI staff in 1991 as a senior scientist after 13  
years as a professor at the University of Rhode Island. He received a  
bachelor's degree in geology and physics from Lehigh University in  
1971 and a master's degree from the University of California, San  
Diego in marine geology in 1974. After a brief stint as an exploration  
geophysicist for Standard Oil Company of California, he earned his  
doctorate from the MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography in 1978.

NSF's Division of Earth Sciences supports basic research and education  
into the structure, composition, and evolution of the Earth, and the  
life it supports. The Division has programs in geobiology and low- 
temperature geochemistry, geomorphology, sedimentary geology and  
paleobiology, hydrology, geophysics, tectonics, and petrology and  
geochemistry.

The results of this research are leading to a better understanding of  
the Earth's dynamic history, and the distribution of its natural  
resources, as well as providing the basic knowledge needed to predict  
and mitigate the effects of geologic hazards such as earthquakes,  
volcanic eruptions, floods and landslides.