Donald F. Boesch (born November 14, 1945) is a professor of marine science and, from 1990 to 2017, president of the
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
With 1925 origins as a research station on Solomons Island, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) is the only scientific research center within the University System of Maryland. In 1973 it became the Center for Envi ...
. From 2006-2017, he concurrently served as Vice Chancellor for Environmental Sustainability for the
University System of Maryland
The University System of Maryland (USM) is a public higher education system in the United States, U.S. state of Maryland. The system is composed of the eleven campuses at College Park, Maryland, College Park, Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimor ...
. In 2010, he was appointed by President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
as a member of the
National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling
The National Commission on the BP ''Deepwater Horizon'' Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling is a bipartisan presidential commission, established by Executive Order 13543 signed by Barack Obama on May 21, 2010, that is "tasked with providing recommend ...
to investigate the root causes of the blowout at the
Macondo Prospect
The Macondo Prospect (Mississippi Canyon Block 252, abbreviated MC252) is an oil and gas prospect in the United States Exclusive Economic Zone of the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Louisiana. The prospect was the site of the ''Deepwater Horiz ...
9th Ward
The Ninth Ward or 9th Ward is a distinctive region of New Orleans, Louisiana, which is located in the easternmost downriver portion of the city. It is geographically the largest of the 17 Wards of New Orleans. On the south, the Ninth Ward is bound ...
and experienced the flooding resulting from
Hurricane Betsy
Hurricane Betsy was an intense and destructive tropical cyclone that brought widespread damage to areas of Florida and the central United States Gulf Coast in September 1965. The storm's erratic nature, coupled with its intensity and minim ...
Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
, in that city, earning a B.S. in Biology. Boesch completed his Ph.D. in
biological oceanography
Biological oceanography is the study of how organisms affect and are affected by the physics, chemistry, and geology of the oceanographic system. Biological oceanography may also be referred to as ocean ecology, in which the root word of ecology ...
at the College of William of Mary in Virginia, after which he was a Fulbright-Hays Postdoctoral Fellow at the
University of Queensland
, mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work
, established =
, endowment = A$224.3 million
, budget = A$2.1 billion
, type = Public research university
, chancellor = Peter Varghese
, vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry
, city = B ...
in Australia.
Boesch returned to the United States in 1972 and served as a professor at the
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) is one of the largest marine research and education centers in the United States. Founded in 1940, VIMS is unique among marine science institutions in its legal mandate to provide research, educatio ...
. In 1990 he moved back to his home state as the first Executive Director of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, where he was responsible for building its marine center at Cocodrie, Louisiana, and two research vessels, the ''
Pelican
Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...
'' and the ''Acadiana''. During this time, he was also a professor of marine science at the
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
, Baton Rouge.
Boesch has conducted research on coastal and continental shelf ecosystems along the Atlantic Coast, the Gulf of Mexico, eastern Australia and the East China Sea. He has published two books and nearly 100 papers on marine
benthos
Benthos (), also known as benthon, is the community of organisms that live on, in, or near the bottom of a sea, river, lake, or stream, also known as the benthic zone.Dead Zone and identified its principal causes.
While president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, he was a member of the Governor’s Chesapeake Bay Cabinet and the Maryland Commission on Climate Change. In 2015, he was recognized as an “Admiral of the Chesapeake". He has been involved in conducting or facilitating research on the Chesapeake Bay for over 35 years, and he has been an official advisor to federal agencies, the
Chesapeake Bay Program
The Chesapeake Bay Program is the regional partnership that directs and conducts the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay in the United States. As a partnership, the Chesapeake Bay Program brings together members of various state, federal, academic a ...
, and five Maryland governors.
Boesch has served on numerous committees, advising federal agencies and the
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (also known as NASEM or the National Academies) are the collective scientific national academy of the United States. The name is used interchangeably in two senses: (1) as an umbrell ...
, where he was chair of the Ocean Studies Board and a member of the Committee on America’s Climate Choices and the Advisory Board for the Gulf Research Program. He is currently on the Leadership Council of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative and the Advisory Board for BONUS: Science for a Better Future of the Baltic Sea Region. In 2007, he was given the Award for Lifetime Leadership in Ecosystem Restoration by the National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration. He is a member of the governing boards of the
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is a non-profit organization devoted to the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay in the United States. It was founded in 1967 and has headquarters offices in Annapolis, Maryland. The foundation has ...
, the Town Creek Foundation, and COMPASS, an organization promoting effective science communication.