In the News: White ’06 Named to Ocean Acidification Study

By Sharon Sanders

A postdoctoral researcher at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay, Maine, Meredith White ’06 has been appointed to the Ocean Acidifi cation Commission of the Maine Department of Marine Resources. Established by the Maine legislature to investigate and report on the impacts of changes in ocean chemistry on the state’s commercial fi sheries, the group includes legislators, scientists, commercial fi shermen, and aquaculture growers and harvesters.

White studies the impact of ocean acidifi cation on phytoplankton in the laboratory of senior research scientist William Balch. A biochemistry graduate, she earned her doctorate in biological oceanography at Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

She began studying the impacts of ocean acidifi cation on scallops while at Woods Hole and began assessing impacts on phytoplankton at Bigelow Laboratory in 2013.

“Being part of the group will allow me to use my scientifi c knowledge and research to make an impact on people’s lives and livelihoods,” says White, who credits her success to working with Joseph Sherma, Larkin Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, and Bernard Fried, Kreider Professor Emeritus of Biology.

“They gave me the unique experience of combining chemistry and biology in my research projects. This combination is still a major theme in my research on how changes in ocean chemistry affect marine organisms. Because ocean carbonate chemistry is rather intricate, I have relied on the strong chemistry background I gained as a biochemistry major at Lafayette.”