Marine and Coastal Science

Introduction

Students and faculty at Western Washington University engage in coastal and marine-focused research and education through a wide array of programs and partnerships, cooperating across fields of study, working in the lab and in the field. Marine and Coastal Science (MACS) is a joint program of Shannon Point Marine Center (SPMC), and the Departments of Biology, Geology, and Environmental Sciences. The program is advancing the state of knowledge about the oceans, coasts, and their ecosystems for the scientific community and for the communities we call home. Program students are learning to understand these systems, engage deeply with them, and become the creative problem solvers of tomorrow.

The program brings together expertise on physical, chemical, geological and biological concepts in marine science. MACS courses allow students to explore and interpret fundamental observations about our coasts and oceans. Students develop an understanding of the process of science while gaining practical skills in an equitable and inclusive learning environment. The program values place-based learning that emphasizes connections to people and communities.

Program website: marine.wwu.edu

Mission Statement

The Marine and Coastal Science program helps students develop into competent, thoughtful, ethical, scientists who are ready to meet the growing marine and coastal needs of Washington State, the nation and the world.

Faculty

The departments of Geology, Biology, Environmental Sciences, and SPMC are home to faculty with many marine specialties, including marine sediments, physical oceanography, marine chemistry, estuaries, geophysics, volcanology, paleoecology, geochemistry, fisheries, salmon habitat, larval and plankton ecology, deep-sea ecology, marine mammology, microbial communities, invertebrate physiology, symbiosis, chemical ecology of algae, protozoology and environmental genomics.

Program Faculty

Several new faculty members are joining the university as part of this program and as we expand our areas of expertise, the major’s program details and offerings will evolve in response to the efforts and interests of these new faculty.

BRIAN L. BINGHAM, Director of Marine and Coastal Sciences. BS & MS, Brigham Young University; PhD, Florida State University.
SHAWN ARELLANO, BIOL Assistant Professor. BS, University of Kansas; PhD, University of Oregon.
W. JAMES COOPER, BIOL Assistant Professor. BS & MS, Florida State University; PhD, University of Chicago
BRADY OLSON, BIOL Assistant Professor. BS, University of Idaho; MS, Western Washington University; PhD, University of Washington.
EMILY ROLAND, GEOL Assistant Professor. BS, Colorado School of Mines; PhD, Massachusets Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
KATHRYN SOBOCINSKI, ESCI Assistant Professor. BS, Connecticut College; MS, University of Washington; PhD, The College of William and Mary.

Affiliate Faculty

ALEJANDRO ACEVEDO-GUTIÉRREZ, BIOL Professor. BSc, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, Mexico; PhD, Texas A&M University.
JACQUELINE CAPLAN-AUERBACH, GEOL Professor. BA, Yale University; PhD, University of Hawaii-Manoa.
ROBYN M. DAHL, GEOL Assistant Professor. BA, Oberlin College; MS, PhD, University of California –Riverside.
SUSAN DEBARI, GEOL Professor. BA, Cornell University; PhD, Stanford
JAMES DIMOND, MACS Research Assistant Professor. BS, University of Vermont; MS, University of Rhode Island; PhD, University of Washington
DEBORAH A. DONOVAN, BIOL Professor. BSc, MSc, University of California-Davis; PhD, University of British Columbia.
MARCO B.A. HATCH, ESCI Assistant Professor. BS, University of Washington; MS and PhD, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego.
BERNARD A. HOUSEN, GEOL Chair and Professor. BS, University of Washington; MS, PhD, University of Michigan.
ROBIN KODNER, BIOL Associate Professor. BS, University of Wisconsin; PhD, Harvard University
WAYNE G. LANDIS, ESCI Professor and Director, Institute of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. BA, Wake Forest University; MA and PhD, Indiana University.
BROOKE A. LOVE, ESCI Associate Professor, BS Stanford University, PhD, University of Washington.
ERIKA McPHEE-SHAW, ESCI Professor. BA, Dartmouth College; PhD, University of Washington.
BENJAMIN MINER, BIOL Professor. BA, University of Florida; PhD, University of California-Santa Cruz.
CRAIG L. MOYER, BIOL Professor. BS, MS, Oregon State University; PhD, University of Hawaii.
CAMILO PONTON, GEOL Assistant Professor. BS, Florida International University; MS, Florida International University; PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
JOHN M. RYBCZYK, ESCI Professor. BS, Michigan State University; MS, Eastern Michigan University; PhD, Louisiana State University.
DAVID H. SHULL, ESCI Professor. BS, University of Washington; MS, University of Connecticut; PhD, University of Massachusetts Program.
RUTH M. SOFIELD, ESCI Professor. BA, West Virginia University; MS, McNeese State University; PhD, Colorado School of Mines.
SUZANNE L. STROM, SPMC Senior Marine Scientist. BA, Middlebury College; MA, Harvard University; PhD, University of Washington.
KATHRYN L. VAN ALSTYNE, SPMC Marine Scientist. BS, University of Rhode Island; PhD, University of Washington.
SYLVIA YANG, MACS Research Assistant Professor. BA, Harvard University; PhD, University of Washington.

Programs

Undergraduate Major

Marine and Coastal Science, BS

Courses

Marine and Coastal Science

Courses numbered X37; X97; 300, 400 are described in the University Academic Policies section of this catalog.