New Research Director for National Oceanography Centre, Southampton - 01/10/07
The National Oceanography Centre, Southampton appointed Professor Millard (Mike) Coffin as Research Director on 1st October 2007.
In a newly created role Professor Coffin will lead integrate research at the UK’s national centre for marine science.
Currently Professor and Director of the Seismic Research Center at the Ocean Research Institute of the University of Tokyo, Mike Coffin will take up his position as a Professor of the University of Southampton and will also be a member of the National Oceanography Centre’s Executive Board.
His role is seen as key to greater integration of the centre’s research activities and its increasing participation in international collaborative programmes.
A US citizen with a scientific background in Marine Geology and Geophysics, Mike Coffin has an AB in Earth Sciences from Dartmouth College, and MA, MPhil and PhD in Geology from Columbia University. He previously held appointments at Dartmouth, Columbia, Geoscience Australia, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science & Technology, plus visiting positions at the universities of Oslo, Strasbourg, and Hawaii.
Mike Coffin has a strong track record in leading major national and international scientific research programmes, including a key role in the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP). He served as inaugural chair of the IODP Science Planning Committee from 2003-5 and has led or taken part in nearly 30 research cruises.
Professor Ed Hill, Director of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, said, “I am absolutely delighted that Mike is joining the very dynamic leadership team here at NOCS. The post of Research Director was identified from the outset as a key role within the new vision for the centre. The role is all the more important as the process of integration of research activities and our participation in big international programmes gathers pace. Mike brings tremendous experience of big, collaborative ocean science programmes, which is where an important part of our future science is heading.”
Mike Coffin said: “The strong international reputation of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, and the range and quality of work carried out at the centre - together with the wide ranging remit of the post of Research Director - are what attracted me to this challenging new role. I look forward to meeting my new colleagues and learning more about the exciting and ground-breaking research undertaken at NOCS.”
