{{Short description|American academic}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Donald F. Boesch | order = | image = | title = President of the<br /> University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1945|11|14}} | birth_place = New Orleans, Louisiana | death_date = | alma_mater = Tulane University (B.S.)<br>College of William & Mary (Ph.D.) | profession = Biologist, Environmental Scientist | website = [https://www.umces.edu/don-boesch Professor] | term_start = 1990 | term_end =2017 }}
'''Donald F. Boesch''' (born November 14, 1945) is a professor of marine science and, from 1990 to 2017, president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.umces.edu/don-boesch|title=Don Boesch's biography|last=|first=|date=8 December 2016|website=|access-date=}}</ref> From 2006-2017, he concurrently served as Vice Chancellor for Environmental Sustainability for the University System of Maryland. In 2010, he was appointed by President Barack Obama as a member of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling<ref>The Whitehouse (June 14, 2010). "[https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-announces-members-bp-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-and-offshore-drill President Obama Announces Members of the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling Commission]". Press release. Retrieved August 18, 2010.</ref> to investigate the root causes of the blowout at the Macondo Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico.
Boesch was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he grew up in the 9th Ward<ref>''The Baltimore Sun''. "[https://www.baltimoresun.com/2010/06/15/maryland-scientist-brings-experience-to-oil-spill-panel/ Maryland Scientist Brings Experience to Oil Spill Panel]." June 15, 2010</ref> and experienced the flooding resulting from Hurricane Betsy. He attended Holy Cross High School and Tulane University, in that city, earning a B.S. in Biology. Boesch completed his Ph.D. in biological oceanography at the College of William of Mary in Virginia, after which he was a Fulbright-Hays Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Queensland in Australia.
Boesch returned to the United States in 1972 and served as a professor at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. In 1990 he moved back to his home state as the first Executive Director of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, where he was responsible for building its marine center at Cocodrie, Louisiana, and two research vessels, the ''Pelican'' and the ''Acadiana''. During this time, he was also a professor of marine science at the Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.
Boesch has conducted research on coastal and continental shelf ecosystems along the Atlantic Coast, the Gulf of Mexico, eastern Australia and the East China Sea. He has published two books and nearly 100 papers on marine benthos, estuarine and continental shelf ecology, wetlands, effects of offshore oil and gas development, nutrient over-enrichment, environmental assessment and science policy. While in Louisiana, he initiated the research that documented the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone and identified its principal causes.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.291.5506.970?ck=nck|title=Science {{!}} The Dead Zone's Fiercest Crusaders|date=February 9, 2001|journal=Science|doi=10.1126/science.291.5506.970 |pmid=11232577 |access-date= |last1=Ferber |first1=D. |volume=291 |issue=5506 |pages=970–971 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
While president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, he was a member of the Governor’s Chesapeake Bay Cabinet<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/26excom/html/07che.html|title=Governor's Council on the Chesapeake Bay|last=|first=|date=|website=|access-date=}}</ref> and the Maryland Commission on Climate Change.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mde.maryland.gov/programs/Air/ClimateChange/MCCC/Pages/STWG_Members.aspx|title=Maryland Commission on Climate Change Scientific and Technical Working Group|last=|first=|date=|website=|access-date=}}</ref> In 2015, he was recognized as an “Admiral of the Chesapeake".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.umces.edu/cbl/story/2015/jan/30/bay-experts-boesch-and-boynton-earn-rank-admiral-chesapeake-bay|title=Bay experts Boesch and Boynton earn rank of Admiral of the Chesapeake Bay|last=|first=|date=January 30, 2015|website=|access-date=}}</ref> He has been involved in conducting or facilitating research on the Chesapeake Bay for over 35 years, and he has been an official advisor to federal agencies, the Chesapeake Bay Program, and five Maryland governors.
Boesch has served on numerous committees, advising federal agencies and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, where he was chair of the Ocean Studies Board and a member of the Committee on America’s Climate Choices<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.nap.edu/read/12781/chapter/1#v|title=America's Climate Choices|last=|first=|date=2011|doi=10.17226/12781 |isbn=978-0-309-14585-5 |access-date=}}</ref> and the Advisory Board for the Gulf Research Program. He is currently on the Leadership Council of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jointoceancommission.org/en/About.aspx|title=Joint Ocean Commission Leadership Council|last=|first=|date=|website=|access-date=|archive-date=2018-10-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011084357/http://www.jointoceancommission.org/en/About.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the Advisory Board for BONUS: Science for a Better Future of the Baltic Sea Region.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bonusportal.org/about_us/advisory_board|title=BONUS Advisory Board|last=|first=|date=|website=|access-date=}}</ref> In 2007, he was given the Award for Lifetime Leadership in Ecosystem Restoration by the National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration. He is a member of the governing boards of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Town Creek Foundation, and COMPASS, an organization promoting effective science communication.
==References== <!--- See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Footnotes on how to create references using<ref></ref> tags which will then appear here automatically --> {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{C-SPAN|1031219}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boesch, Donald}} Category:Living people Category:1945 births Category:University System of Maryland people Category:Tulane University alumni Category:College of William & Mary alumni Category:Academics from New Orleans Category:College of William & Mary faculty Category:Louisiana State University faculty Category:Holy Cross High School (New Orleans) alumni