From Mad Science to simple practicality: A path between ideas, data, and tools to make the oceans better

Science is home to a million ideas. How do some of them, a few of them, end up leading to ways that help benefit our planet and human well being? In this talk, Dr. Steve Palumbi charts a path from ideas to their impact in two different projects from my lab group. The first is an idea that DNA could read the patterns of biodiversity in the sea. This has turned into a collaboration with the Chumash community south of Big Sur to monitor 1000s of species in the kelp forest and help the effort to help establish the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. In the second example, we’ll go from observations on coral reefs during heat waves to simple tools that allow local people to find and use heat resistant corals to help regenerate local reefs - reefs with a better chance of surviving future heat waves. Science discovery is cool and fun and novel and thrilling. But when it also can be useful - then it is just the best.

Dr. Palumbi is the Jane and Marshall Steel Jr. Professor of Marine Sciences, Professor of Oceans and of Biology.

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