The Center for Marine Science
The Center for Marine Science (CMS) is a premiere national coastal research and marine science facility that provides a learning environment that fosters an interdisciplinary approach, embraces innovative technologies, and promotes academic research and student engagement opportunities.
CMS supports and promotes coastal and marine science at UNCW through research, teaching, outreach and service. Marine and coastal science at UNCW spans more than 50 years and integrates all of UNCW’s colleges and schools.
MarineQuest, CMS and the Watson College of Education have a 40-year partnership that provides engaging applied learning for the preK-12 community interested in the marine and coastal environments.
Speakers
The UNCW Center for Marine Science is a proud sponsor of the North Carolina Sea Turtle Symposium with two featured speakers at our event.
Dr. Ken Halanych
Dr. Ken Halanych, Executive Director of the Center for Marine Science came to UNCW from Auburn University (AU), where he was the Stewart Schneller Endowed Chair and Alumni Professor of Biology. He served on the Research Board of the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and is Editor-in-Chief of Biological Bulletin. Prior to joining AU, he worked at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Falmouth, MA. Halanych holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and an undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University, where he was honored as the 2002 Distinguished Alumni Lecturer.
Dr. Amanda Williard
I received a BSc in Marine Biology from Auburn University and MSc and Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. I conducted post-doctoral research at the NOAA Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center in Honolulu, Hawaii and joined the faculty in the UNCW Department of Biology and Marine Biology in 2005. My research revolves around marine reptile physiology and I am interested in a diversity of topics, including diving physiology, thermal biology, conservation physiology, and endangered species management.