Profs at the Pub: David Valentine

CCS Marine Science Faculty Dave Valentine will be hosting a talk as a part of Profs at the Pub—a free speaker series featuring UC Santa Barbara professors. 

Science and Disasters - An Unusual Pairing

In his talk, Professor Valentine will discuss his atypical approach to science, of using environmental disasters as a leverage point to make basic science relevant. He will (briefly) discuss his interests in fundamental questions about microbes, chemicals and the environment, and then expand to consider a series of disasters/catastrophes that have informed his research. He will include some discussion from his work as an on-site responder to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and on his role in uncovering a tragic history of ocean DDT/waste disposal, among other disasters he has studied. 

Dave Valentine is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth Science at UC Santa Barbara, and is closely affiliated with the Marine Science Graduate Program, The CCS Marine Science Program, The Marine Science Institute, and The NSF Biofoundry for Exceptional and Extreme Fungi, Archaea and Bacteria (Ex-FAB). He received his B.S. and M.S. in Biochemistry/Chemistry from UC San Diego, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Earth System Science from UC Irvine. Awarded an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship, he then trained at Scripps Institution of Oceanography before joining the UCSB faculty. Professor Valentine presently holds The Norris Presidential Chair in Earth Science, directs the CCS Marine Science major, and serves as the Vice Chair of the UCSB Academic Senate.

Register here.