School for Marine Science and Technology

Faculty and Fields of Interest

Altabet, Mark A Professor of Marine Science and Technology (1995), BS 1979 State University of New York at Stony Brook, PhD 1984 Harvard University. Specializations: Marine and environmental chemistry.

Brown, Wendell S (Chairperson, Department of Estuarine and Ocean Sciences) Professor of Marine Science and Technology (2000), BS 1965, MS 1967 Brown University, PhD 1971 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Specializations: Coastal physical oceanography, moored ocean observations, real time circulation modeling and data/information management system development.

Chen, Changsheng Professor of Marine Science and Technology (2001), BS 1979, MS 1983 Ocean University of Qingdao, China, MS 1989, PhD 1992 Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. Specializations: Modeling and observational exploration of coastal ocean circulation, oceanic frontal processes, turbulent mixing/bottom boundary layer dynamics, chaotic mixing, western boundary currents, internal waves and tides, and biological/physical interaction.

Goodman, Louis Professor of Marine Science and Technology (2001), BS 1967, MS 1969, PhD 1971 Drexel University. Specializations: physical oceanography, ocean internal waves, turbulence and mixing, bottom and surface mixed layers, ocean acoustics, autonomous underwater vehicles.

Howes, Brian Professor of Marine Science and Technology (2000), BA 1974 Rutgers University, MA 1980, PhD 1984 Boston University. Specializations: Estuarine and embayment nutrient cycling and modeling; saltwater and freshwater wetland, lake, embayment management and restoration.

MacDonald, Daniel Assistant Professor of Marine Science and Technology (2003) BSCE 1992 University of New Hampshire, MS 1996 Cornell University, PhD 2002 Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute Joint Program. Specializations: Estuarine oceanography, hydrodynamics, stratified turbulence, environmental engineering.

Rothschild, Brian (Dean, School of Marine Science and Technology) Professor of Biology (1995), BS 1957 Rutgers University, MS 1959 University of Maine, PhD 1962 Cornell University. Specialization: Ocean ecosystems; Current research: Marine fish population dynamics, models of plankton dynamics and interactions.

Stokesbury, Kevin (Chairperson, Department of Fisheries Oceanography) Associate Professor of Marine Science and Technology (2000), BSc 1984, MSc 1987 Acadia University, Nova Scotia, PhD 1994 Universite Laval, Quebec. Specializations: Marine biology/ ecology focusing on fisheries including scallop population dynamics and life history studies.

Sundermeyer, Miles Assistant Professor of Marine Science and Technology (2001), BA 1991 University of California, ScM 1995, PhD 1998 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Specializations: Dispersion and transport processes, numerical modeling of mixing and stirring, numerical modeling of physical and biological interactions.

Faculty with SMAST Joint Appointments

Bisagni, James J Associate Professor of Physics and Marine Science and Technology (1997), BS 1972 University of New York at Stony Brook, MS 1976, PhD 1991 University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. Specializations: Physical oceanography, satellite oceanography.

Buck, John R Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Marine Science and Technology (1996), SB 1989, SM 1991, PhD 1996 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Specializations: Underwater acoustics, signal processing, marine mammal bioacoustics.

Eberback, Eugene Associate Professor of Computer and Information Science and Marine Science and Technology (2000), MS 1977, PhD 1982 Technical University of Warsaw. Specializations: Concurrent computations, artificial intelligence, evolutionary computations.

Fain, Gilbert Chancellor Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Marine Science and Technology (1968), BSEE 1958, MSEE 1961, PhD 1967 University of Rhode Island. Specializations: Ocean systems, instrumentation and measurement systems, underwater acoustics, active circuits.

Friedman, Peter D Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Marine Science and Technology (2002), BS 1984 Georgia Institute of Technology, MS 1991 Georgia Institute of Technology, PhD 2001 Johns Hopkins University. Specializations: Experimental fluid mechanics and heat transfer, thermodynamics, nuclear power plant operation.

Georgianna, Daniel L Chancellor Professor of Economics and Marine Science and Technology (1978), BS 1965 College of the Holy Cross, PhD 1977 University of Massachusetts Amherst. Specializations: Marine resource economics, comparative economic systems, and economic history.

Gangopadhyay, Avijit Associate Professor of Physics and Marine Science and Technology, BTech 1979 Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, MTech 1982 Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, PhD 1990 University of Rhode Island. Specializations: Physical oceanography, numerical modeling, climate studies.

O’Connor, Nancy J Associate Professor of Biology and Marine Science and Technology (1993), BS 1980 Southeastern Massachusetts University (UMass Dartmouth), MS 1982 University of Delaware, PhD 1990 North Carolina State University. Specialization: Marine invertebrate ecology.

Singh, Bal-Ram Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Marine Science and Technology (1990), BSc 1977 Kamla Nehru Institute of Science and Technology, MSc 1979, MPhil 1982 Jawaharlal Nehru University, PhD 1987 Texas Tech University. Specialization: Physical biochemistry.

Tandon, Amit Assistant Professor of Physics and Marine Science and Technology (1999), BTech 1987 Indian Institute of Technology, PhD 1992 Cornell University. Specializations: Fluid dynamics, physical oceanography, environmental and computational physics.

Turner, Jefferson Chancellor Professor of Biology and Marine Science and Technology (1979), BS 1969 Guilford College, MA 1972 University of South Florida, PhD 1977 Texas A&M University. Specialization: Biological oceanography.

Zuo, Yuegang Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Marine Science and Technology (1999), BS 1982 Wuhan University, China, MS 1984 Chinese Academy of Science, PhD 1992 Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Specializations: Analytical chemistry, environmental chemistry, marine chemistry, photochemistry.

Graduate students who enroll in the School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) at UMass Dartmouth access MS and PhD degrees which are offered through the University of Massachusetts Intercampus Graduate School of Marine Sciences and Technology (IGS).

The IGS is an administrative umbrella for the multi-campus faculty, who have diverse teaching and research interests in the marine sciences and associated technologies. The IGS faculty are distributed among four campuses—UMass Amherst, UMass Boston, UMass Dartmouth, and UMass Lowell. The IGS offers students advanced academic studies and research in a range of specializations clustered in five option areas.

SMAST is a major center for teaching, research, and economic development for UMass Dartmouth and the University of Massachusetts. Its faculty and staff engage in basic and applied research in areas that foster interactions with industries and public agencies on economic development and environmental and marine resource policy issues. While SMAST research tends to concentrate on the regional coastal ocean estuaries and watersheds of Massachusetts, New England and the adjacent U.S., a number of programs are focused in remote regions of the global ocean.

SMAST is located on 2.6 acres in south New Bedford along Clark’s Cove and Buzzards Bay.

Degree Programs

IGS offers both Master of Science degree and Doctor of Philosophy degree programs in marine sciences and technology. Students graduating with a MS or PhD degree from IGS receive a joint degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, and Lowell. The degree programs are fundamentally grounded in a broad, integrated, interdisciplinary approach to the study of marine sciences and technology.

Students located at the four participating campuses complete (1) required core courses selected from the natural and social sciences to equip them for interdisciplinary studies and research and (2) elective courses in a chosen area of concentration. The programs prepare students for employment opportunities in the private and governmental sectors and academia. Emphasis is placed on educating researchers and scholars who will contribute not only to basic research but also to the application of that research in a coherent approach to resource management and economic development issues.

Admission Standards

Successful applicants will generally have completed an undergraduate or graduate degree with a GPA of 3.00 or better and will have an undergraduate major in one of the basic scientific disciplines or engineering, or will have strong multidisciplinary training with completion of at least six semesters of coursework in the natural sciences, generally to include biology, chemistry, and/or physics. Preparation in mathematics at least through integral calculus is strongly encouraged. Students who do not meet these criteria need to identify a faculty advocate who must bring a request for exception before the Admissions Committee. At the discretion of the Admissions Committee applicants may make up deficiencies in prior coursework either before or after admission is granted to the IGS. Consideration will be on a case-by-case basis, and the recommendation of the committee will be forwarded to the Dean for approval.

Candidates may apply for admission at either the masters or doctoral level. Students admitted directly into the doctoral program are expected to have exceptional academic credentials and/or work experience. Students entering with a bachelor’s degree may be required to complete the requirements of a masters degree before admission to the doctoral program. Students entering with a masters can be admitted at the doctoral level provided the degree, coursework, and research experience warrant such a decision by the Admissions Committee.

Application Criteria

The Admissions Committee will evaluate a number of additional criteria in its consideration of applications. They include performance on the Graduate Record Examinations (GREs) and TOEFL (if appropriate), three letters of recommendation, transcripts, and statement of interest and intent. Successful applicants will generally have combined verbal and quantitative GRE scores greater than or equal to 1200, and a strong analytical score. International students must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). A minimum of 600 (or 213 on the computer-based exam) is strongly recommended. GRE Subject tests may also be used in evaluation but are not required.

Three letters of recommendation from referees familiar with the applicant’s academic and/or work experience are required.

Official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate coursework must be submitted.

Statements of Interest and Intent are also requested.

The Statement of Interest should provide reviewers an indication of the motivation of the student for pursuing graduate work.
The Statement of Intent should describe how graduate training would address the student’s career goals.

The applicant is strongly encouraged to identify one or more faculty members who could serve as the applicant’s advisor, at least initially, upon admission. To this end, discussions with individual faculty before completing the application are strongly encouraged.

Registration Across Campuses

Courses may be taken at any IGS-affiliated program on the four campuses, in other departments at UMass Dartmouth, or at other area oceanographic institutions, and may be included in a student’s program of studies subject to approval by the student’s major advisor and/or dissertation committee.

UMass campuses collaborate to permit joint-program students, like those in the IGS, at one campus to take courses at another with a minimum of effort. In brief, UMass Dartmouth IGS students go to our Registrar’s Office to register and pay for a course offered at another campus (offered either on that campus or by distance learning). That campus provides evidence of course completion, and grades as well as credit are shown on the UMass Dartmouth transcript.

Graduate Assistantships and Financial Aid

Financial assistance is available to full-time graduate students on a competitive basis. Requests for financial assistance should be made on the admission application.

For information about loans or other assistance, please consult the chapter on “Expenses and Financial Assistance.”

Contact

Dr Avijit Gangopadhyay
Associate Dean and Graduate Program Director
School for Marine Science and Technology
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
706 South Rodney French Boulevard
New Bedford, MA 02744-1221
Voice: (508) 910-6330
Fax: (508) 999-6371
Email: avijit@umassd.edu