Photo: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Jane Lubchenco is one of the best-known marine scientists to come out of Oregon State University. Her research on rocky shores, including work along the central Oregon coast, helped build OSU’s reputation in marine ecology.
Science on the shore
Lubchenco and her colleagues studied how species interact in the intertidal zone, and later how ocean conditions such as low-oxygen “dead zones” affect coastal ecosystems. The rocky shores of Lincoln County served as field sites for years of that work.
Leading NOAA
In 2009 she became administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the first woman to hold the job. She served until 2013, a period that included the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and changes in fishery management.
Back to policy
She later returned to OSU and in 2021 took a senior science role in the White House. Through all of it, her career has been closely tied to the Oregon coast that shaped her early research.
Dewey Albrecht covers the Port of Newport, commercial and sport fishing and the Yaquina Bay bar.
