Peer Association Honors Ocean Researcher Cutter for Sustained Excellence

December 21, 2015

Greg Cutter

An international organization for researchers and educators in aquatic sciences has named Old Dominion University biogeochemist Greg Cutter to its inaugural class of fellows for his long-term scientific contributions.

Cutter, a professor in the Department of Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, is among 29 "sustaining fellows" honored by the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO). Limnology is the study of inland waters.

The association initiated its fellows program this year to cite members who have advanced the aquatic sciences through exceptional contributions to society and public awareness.

"All scientists work in our fields because we love what we do," said Cutter, who among many contributions was founding editor of the Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin. "Of course, we also do our research and professional services to help our fellow scientists and, in the case of oceanography, to help our planet. So when your peers recognize your contributions to the field, it's very special."

Cutter and the other fellows will be recognized at the association's June (2016) meeting in Santa Fe, NM. ASLO has more than 4,000 members from 58 countries.

Cutter most recently was part of the first unaccompanied research expedition to the North Pole by a United States surface ship. The 65-day, multi-university journey was part of the National Science Foundation's U.S. Geotraces series.

That landmark venture was bittersweet, Cutter said, because of the team's discoveries. "We found the ice was very thin and degraded throughout our transit north and south, which made icebreaking relatively easy and uneventful. The degraded Arctic sea ice due to global climate change made our single-vessel achievement possible."