Susan Shaw

SUSAN SHAW RESIDENCY: MARCH 26 - 30, 2012

Marine toxicologist, author, explorer, ocean advocate, and director/founder of the Marine Environmental Research Institute

The Northeastern University Humanities Center’s Artists and Practitioners in Residence Program will bring Susan Shaw to campus on March 26th - 30th for an exciting assortment of events for the entire Northeastern community.

Dr. Susan Shaw is a marine toxicologist, author, explorer, ocean advocate, and director of the Marine Environmental Research Institute (MERI) based in Blue Hill, Maine. A Fulbright Scholar with dual degrees from Columbia University in film and public health/ environmental health sciences, Shaw was commissioned by Ansel Adams in 1980 to write Overexposure, the first book on the health hazards of photographic chemicals.

For the past two decades, Shaw has conducted pioneering research documenting the effects of hundreds of man-made chemicals in the ocean environment. She is credited as the first scientist to show that flame retardant chemicals used in consumer products have contaminated marine mammals and commercially important fish stocks in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. Her research has influenced policy decisions in the US and abroad, including the Maine legislature’s decision to ban the neurotoxic flame retardant Deca, and the subsequent US phase-out of the chemical.

An outspoken and influential voice on ocean pollution, Shaw dove in the Gulf of Mexico oil slick in May 2010 and subsequently influenced the national debate on the hazards of chemical dispersants. She is currently leading a region-wide investigation on the effects of oil and chemical dispersants in the Gulf ecosystem. She serves on the Strategic Sciences Working Group (SSWG), the U.S. Department of Interior’s team of 14 scientists charged with assessing health consequences of the oil spill and recommending policy actions to lessen stress in the region.

Shaw is a keynote speaker on marine pollution, ecotoxicology, public health, and science and chemicals policy at universities and major venues around the world. She is chair/founder of The Explorers Club State of the Oceans Forums highlighting solutions to the crisis facing the world’s oceans. She serves on the International Panel on Chemical Pollution, a select group of scientists advising policymakers on the management of toxic chemicals in developed and developing countries.

The recipient of numerous awards, Shaw was named Gulf of Maine “Visionary” by the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment representing the New England states and Atlantic Canada. In 2010, she received MORE magazine’s “Noisemaker” Award for her work in the Gulf of Mexico, and a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellowship for 2011-12. This spring, Shaw will receive the Society of Women Geographers’ Gold Medal Award for her “pioneering research of major significance that continues to influence health and toxics policy in the US and abroad.” Joining the ranks of Amelia Earhart, Margaret Mead, Jane Goodall, and Sylvia Earle, she will be the 19th woman to receive the society’s highest award in 78 years. Dr Shaw will also be honored at the Audubon Society’s Women in Conservation 2011 Rachel Carson Awards for her work in the Gulf of Mexico. In November 2011, she will deliver the keynote address at the Swedish Society for Marine Sciences national conference.

Events Free and Open to the Public:

“Diving In: A Marine Scientist Takes on Pollution, Policy and Public Health”: Open Classroom “Environmental Leaders” Public Lecture Series

Monday, March 26th at 5:30PM – 6:45PM in 10 Behrakis

This talk is a part of the Open Classroom “The Sociology of Environmental Activism and Movements: Challenges to Building a Sustainable Future” taught by Dr. Daniel Faber, Professor of Sociology and Director of the NU Environmental Justice Research Collaborative. This open-classroom experience focuses on the role of environmental activists and movements in addressing the global ecological crisis, with a special emphasis on evaluating the organizing strategies, political tactics, organizational forms, and policy goals adopted by various environmental movement organizations (EMOs).

"The Vostok Dilemma: Time Capsule or Ocean Tipping Point?": Dean’s “Facing Our Future Today” Public Forum

Monday, March 26th at 7:00PM - 8:00 PM in Raytheon
Event will be followed by a reception

In her talk, Dr. Shaw will discuss the dilemma posed by the exploration of Lake Vostok, a pristine reservoir buried beneath the ice for 20 million years. Vostok holds the possibility of advancing scientific knowledge about the universe in ways previously only dreamed of, but this potential breakthrough in exploration carries significant risks to the global ocean environment that must be weighed. Adequate measures were not in place when we drilled a mile deep into the offshore waters of the Gulf to extract oil, and technology failed to prevent the largest environmental disaster in our country’s history. The Vostok expedition contains an important cautionary tale that we need to hear in the interest of ocean and planetary survival. How far is too far? For the oceans, an assault of the magnitude posed by the Vostok drilling could be a tipping point. This event will be hosted by Georges Van Den Abbeele, Founding Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Humanities.

The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Inside Out NU Libraries “Meet the Author” Lecture Series

Wednesday, March 28th at 12:00PM – 1:30 PM in 90 Snell Library

A marine toxicologist, public health professional, explorer, and author, Dr. Susan Shaw brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise on the chemical contamination of the world’s oceans and its impact on marine and human life. As an outspoken and influential voice on ocean pollution, Dr. Shaw dove into the Gulf of Mexico oil slick a month after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in 2010 to investigate the impact of massive amounts of chemical dispersants being used to sink the oil. Her account of the hidden damage below the water’s surface was published in the New York Times and widely broadcast through TED talks and international media including CNN. Dr. Shaw appears in several documentary films on the Gulf disaster including Animal Planet’s Black Tide: Voices of the Gulf and Green Planet’s The Big Fix, the Official Selection documentary at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. In her lecture, Dr. Shaw will share insights from her investigation of toxic impacts in the Gulf. She says, “With oil, there is no safe level of exposure – once exposed, people and animals face long-term health impacts including cancers. As we watch BP’s aggressive post-spill TV ad campaign, the truth is, there are more than 600 dead dolphins and thousands of people with severe health problems in the Gulf, and it will be decades before we will know the real extent of the damage.” This talk is a part of NU Libraries ongoing “Meet the Author” Series. Pizza and refreshments will be served. This event is hosted by NU Libraries.

Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Forum

Wednesday March 28th at 3:00PM – 5:00PM in the Humanities Center, 716 Columbus Place, Suite 202

Graduate students from interdisciplinary backgrounds across the university working with concepts of environmental sustainability will share their work with their peers, the community, and with guest Dr. Susan Shaw. Conversation will follow the presentations. These forums are intended to bring together graduate students from all academic disciplines at NU to create a collaborative and interdisciplinary intellectual community. The forums provide a unique opportunity to expand research through collaborative processes and to discuss approaches to research through a variety of methodological and theoretical frameworks. Pizza and beverages will be served. This event is hosted by the Humanities Center.

“Taking the Skin Off: The Truth About Chemical Contaminants in Farmed Salmon” Open Classroom “Food and American Society: An Urban Perspective” Public Lecture Series

Wednesday, March 28th at 6:00PM – 8:00PM in 20 West Village F

This talk is part of the Open Classroom Series “Food & American Society: An Urban Perspective: What we eat, why, where it comes from, and how it all matters, everyday” taught by Dr. Christopher J. Bosso, Professor and Associate Dean in the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs. The class focuses on food and society from the perspective of the urban consumer. Why do we eat what we eat? Where does our food come from? How much is local versus global, and why does it matter? Who actually produces our food, under what conditions, and with what impacts on the environment? What are the economics of food, and why do some populations in greater Boston find it hard to get access to healthy foods? What roles do culture, race, and ethnicity play in how we eat, and why? How do we reconnect the city to the farm, and what are some people in Boston doing to create a better and more sustainable food future?

“Ocean Pollution in An Ecological Perspective: Impacts Of Emerging Contaminants On Marine Wildlife ”

Thursday, March 29th at 11:00AM – 12:00PM in The Marine Science Center, Nahant. This event will be followed by a lunch

Dr. Shaw will visit the Northeastern University Marine Science Center (MSC) for a tour and talk. The MSC is an internationally recognized research institution the focuses of the ocean environment, marine life and its diversity, ecology, and discovering biotechnology and medical potential in the sea. In her lecture, Dr. Shaw will discuss the occurrence and impacts of ocean pollution in an ecological perspective with a special focus on emerging contaminants in northwest Atlantic harbor seals and their prey fish. This event is sponsored by the Humanities Center's Artists and Practitioners in Residence Program and the Marine Science Center.