EPOC serves as a catalyst each year for the ocean community in the Northwest and across the west coast of North America to come together, share ideas, mentor students, and support innovative science. It is the "favorite" meeting of many ocean scientists, as it is relatively small and encourages extended interdisciplinary discussions among biological, physical, and chemical oceanographers. These interactions occur frequently on mountain trails and over shared meals in scenic surroundings, see the photo above taken by Dave Sutherland during EPOC 2010! EPOC is particularly friendly to junior scientists fostering a positive environment and encouraging students to practice their presentation skills and networking.
We are delighted to have Dr. Bill Peterson as this year's EPOC fireside chat speaker. Dr. Peterson is a biological oceanographer and marine ecologist whose career has mostly been centered on work in the northern California Current (NCC) but supplemented by significant efforts in two other upwelling ecosystems. His research has focused on the effects of climate variability and climate change on zooplankton and pelagic fish in the Northern California Current region, and understanding the ecology and biology of krill. Currently a scientist at NOAA, Dr. Peterson has also been the Director of the U.S. GLOBEC Interagency Program Coordination Office in Washington DC, and a Supervisory Physical Scientist with the National Ocean Service, Center for Ocean Analysis and Prediction in Monterey. He has also worked at the University of Cape Town and the Sea Fisheries Research Institute in Cape Town South Africa for two years, spent a summer working in the upwelling ecosystem off Chile, and was an assistant professor at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. His research interests and experiences weave in nicely with all of the EPOC 2012 scientific sessions. The fireside chat allows EPOC attendees an informal format to gain valuable insight from Dr. Peterson. He promises to tell us a few light-hearted stories from his experiences and summarize his thoughts on new science directions for the California Current that will hopefully spark conversations and interactions to be continued throughout the conference.