Aquarium Honors Dr. Marcia McNutt and Dr. Peter Kareiva as 2017 Ocean Conservation Award Winners

July 6, 2017

The nonprofit Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, honored Dr. Marcia McNutt and Dr. Peter Kareiva as the recipients of its 2017 Ocean Conservation Award during the Blue Whale Gala on Saturday, June 10. The Ocean Conservation Award is given annually to those who contribute significantly to ocean conservation and environmental education.

Dr. Marcia McNutt is president of the National Academy of Sciences. She began her career as a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her other positions have included professor at Stanford University, president and CEO of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, director of the U.S. Geological Survey, and editor-in-chief of the Science family of journals. She is one of the world’s leading geophysicists. McNutt holds a bachelor’s of arts degree in physics from Colorado College, a Ph.D. in earth sciences from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and honorary degrees from Colorado College, the University of Minnesota, Monmouth University, and the Colorado School of Mines. She has published more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles. McNutt is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Peter Kareiva is director of the University of California, Los Angeles’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. Before coming to UCLA, Kareiva was the chief scientist and vice president of The Nature Conservancy, director of Conservation Biology at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center, and held faculty positions at the University of Washington and Brown University. Kareiva received a master’s of science degree in environmental biology from the University of California, Irvine, and a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology from Cornell University. He is one of the world’s most distinguished and iconic ecologists. He is the author of more than 150 scientific publications and author or editor of eight books. Kareiva is a fellow of the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Attendees of the Aquarium’s black-tie Blue Whale Gala enjoyed an elegant cocktail and hors d’oeuvre reception on the front plaza, gourmet dinner in the Great Hall of the Pacific, inspirational conversations, delectable desserts, and after-dinner drinks and dancing under the stars on the outdoor Harbor Terrace and Veranda. Special thanks to the Blue Whale Gala’s premier sponsors Esther S.M. Chui Chao, The Johnny Carson Foundation, Bank of America, The Boeing Company, David and Kathy Cohen, Kathie Eckert, Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg, The Olson Company, Port of Long Beach, Dr. and Mrs. Jerry R. Schubel, and Sidley Austin LLP.