Ronald Thom

Staff Scientist Emeritus
Coastal Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Ron, who led the sixteen members of the CER technical group at the Marine Sciences Laboratory, has conducted research in coastal and estuarine ecosystems since 1971. His research includes coastal ecosystem restoration; adaptive management of restored systems; effects of pollution; benthic primary production; climate change; and ecology of fisheries resources. He has worked on programs in systems in California, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Massachusetts, New York, Nebraska, Alabama, and most recently in the Gulf of Mexico. Over his 41-year professional career, Ron has directed approximately 200 multidisciplinary ecological studies. He has published five book chapters, over 60 peer reviewed journal articles, hundreds of reports, made hundreds of professional presentations, and served on numerous professional committees. From 1985-1989, he chaired the Technical Advisory Committee of the Puget Sound Estuary Program. In 2009, Ron was appointed to serve on the new Science Team that will guide research conducted by the Puget Sound Straits Commission. Because of the growing international reputation of Ron and his group, he was invited to present a keynote address on Coastal Ecosystem Restoration in South Korea in June 2009. Based on this presentation and discussions with Korean scientists and federal agency officials, he was invited to formulate a research collaboration agreement with Inha University and Chungnam University, South Korea that will focus on an ecosystem restoration program for that county. In addition, based on discussions with scientists in China in 2009, he was invited to develop an agreement for joint cooperative research in coastal restoration with faculty at East China Normal University, State Key Laboratory of Estuarine & Coastal Research in Shanghai, China. Ron serves as an Affiliate Associate Professor, School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences, University of Washington. In 2010, Ron was elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences.