Peter Brewer Honored with International Science and Technology Cooperation Award
– FEBRUARY 4, 2019
 Dr. Peter Brewer and his wife Hilary at the Pre‐Ceremony banquet for foreign awardees of the China International Science and Technology Cooperation Award. Front row: Host (National Office for Science and Technology Awards), Yimei Zhu (Brookhaven Natl. Lab.), Hilary Brewer, Peter Brewer (MBARI), Huang Wei (host), Fraser Stoddart (Northwestern), Licheng Sun (KTH, Stockholm), Jan Miller (Utah College of Mines). Photo provided by Peter Brewer. |
 Dr. Peter Brewer and his wife Hilary take a celebratory picture with the nominating team for the China International Science and Technology Cooperation Award. Left to right: Zhang Xin, Chaolun Li, Hilary Brewer, Peter Brewer, Fan Wang (Director, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences), Rencheng Yu, Yanwei Li. Photo provided by Peter Brewer. |
 The certificates for the China International Science and Technology Cooperation Award were presented in the Great Hall, and Minister Liu presented the medals immediately after in another chamber. Photo provided by Peter Brewer. |
The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) congratulates its Research Board member Dr. Peter G. Brewer on receiving the China International Science and Technology Cooperation Award, the highest honor China bestows on a foreign scientist for important contributions to China’s science and technology development. President Xi Jinping presided over the January 8, 2019 award ceremony in Beijing, China.
Dr. Brewer is a world-renowned ocean geochemist who pioneered the study of ocean acidification, proposed a new perspective on change effects on marine biogeochemical cycles, and is a shared recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He led more than 40 marine scientific expeditions, serving as Chief or Co-Chief Scientist. Currently, he is a Senior Scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and formerly served as its President and CEO.
Over the last decade, Dr. Brewer has promoted the development of China’s deep-sea exploration technologies, inviting Chinese scientists from Peking University, Xiamen University, and Ocean University of China to participate in the American deep-sea exploration cruises. Chinese scientists have joined him in the training of PhD candidates and participated in the design, build, and application of the deep-sea ROV Faxian. Dr. Brewer was recently honored with the International Scientific Cooperation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Award and assisted the CAS in establishing the International Team for Deep-sea Extreme Environment and Special Ecosystem Innovation.
Dr. Brewer is Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans, serves on the Major Projects Review Board of the Hong Kong University Grants Committee, and is a By Courtesy Professor at Stanford University School of Earth Sciences. He is also an appointed independent scientist to the GoMRI Board, who oversees a 10-year research program about the Deepwater Horizon incident and its effects on the environment and public health, and leads the GoMRI Data Management Sub-Committee.
Rita Colwell, Chair of the GoMRI Research Board, offered her thoughts about Dr. Brewer, “Peter epitomizes the absolute best in science. He has made significant new findings in his field of research and reflects the best qualities of integrity, compassion, and intellectual rigor. In brief, Peter Brewer is a brilliant scientist and this newest honor is fully deserved! Our congratulations to Peter.”
Commenting on this honor, Dr. Brewer said, “This award represents a team effort with several of my colleagues. Very few Earth scientists have received this award, and I am proud that our research is recognized as able to span the ‘science- technology divide.’”
Prior to his position at MBARI, Dr. Brewer spent 24 years as a researcher at WHOI, rising to the rank of Senior Scientist, and taught ocean chemistry for the joint Massachusetts Institute of Technology/WHOI program. He was Associate Editor of several science journals, including Deep-Sea Research, Journal of Marine Research, and Geophysical Research Letters and has authored or co-authored over 200 scientific papers, technical reports, and book reviews. Dr. Brewer has testified before the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation about the relevance of oceanic chemical, geological, and biological processes.
Leadership has been a prominent aspect of Dr. Brewer’s accomplishments, with positions that include President of the AGU Oceanography Section; Executive Committee Chairman for the US Global Ocean Fluxes Study; Chairman National Academy of Sciences’ Ocean Studies Board (CO2 panel); Marine Chemistry Program Director; Co-chair of the Decadal Report Ocean Sciences at the New Millennium; member of the US National Methane Hydrates Advisory Committee; and advisory committee member of the Geochemical Ocean Section Study.
The science community has honored Dr. Brewer, including selection as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and recipient of the AGU Maurice Ewing Medal, their highest award in oceanography. He also has received an Einstein Visiting Professorship from the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Honorary Professor at Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an; Zheng Zhong Distinguished Visiting Fellowship from Xiamen University; and a Distinguished Visiting Fellowship at the United Kingdom Royal Academy of Engineering
The GoMRI community joins in the accolades of Dr. Brewer’s exceptional contributions to science and direction as the Chair of the GoMRI Data Management Sub-Committee.
By Nilde Maggie Dannreuther. Contact maggied@ngi.msstate.edu with questions or comments.
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The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) is a 10-year independent research program established to study the effect, and the potential associated impact, of hydrocarbon releases on the environment and public health, as well as to develop improved spill mitigation, oil detection, characterization and remediation technologies. An independent and academic 20-member Research Board makes the funding and research direction decisions to ensure the intellectual quality, effectiveness and academic independence of the GoMRI research. All research data, findings and publications will be made publicly available. The program was established through a $500 million financial commitment from BP. For more information, visit https://gulfresearchinitiative.org/.
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