Friedrichs, Latour and Kuehl Selected for Plumeri Awards

By John Wallace & David Malmquist, excerpted from:

http://www.vims.edu/newsandevents/topstories/archives/2010/plumeri_awards.php

Professors Carl Friedrichs, Rob Latour, and Steve Kuehl of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William & Mary, have been selected to receive Plumeri Awards for Faculty Excellence in recognition of their exemplary achievements in teaching, research, and service.

"The College is well known for its accomplished faculty," says William & Mary Provost Michael Halleran. "To distinguish oneself among this group of peers, as recipients of the 2010 Plumeri Awards have done, speaks volumes to their talent and work ethic. They are truly deserving of this recognition."


Friedrichs, Latour, and Kuehl—professors of marine science in the School of Marine Science at VIMS—join 17 other W&M faculty members in receiving the 2010 awards.

"Carl, Rob, and Steve are wonderful examples of faculty excellence at VIMS," says VIMS Dean and Director John Wells. "These faculty have international reputations and excel in research-based solutions to the many challenges facing our coastal oceans."

Joseph J. Plumeri II

The awards are named in recognition of Joseph J. Plumeri II '66, who in the spring of 2008 made a significant commitment to his alma mater to "honor and support" its faculty's efforts through creation of the Plumeri Awards for Faculty Excellence.

The awards, which include a $10,000 prize for each recipient, are to be given to 20 William & Mary faculty members every year for a decade, beginning in 2009. The funds are to be applied toward research, summer salaries, or other stipends associated with scholarly endeavor, with the ultimate intention of enhancing faculty interaction with students and, in Mr. Plumeri's own words, empowering the College's professors to continue to "work passionately to challenge the minds of our exceptional students."

Carl Friedrichs

Possessing the unusual ability to work across the traditional disciplines of marine, earth, and environmental sciences, Professor Friedrichs conducts cutting-edge research in physical oceanography, sedimentary geology, sediment transport, coastal morphodynamics, and marine ecology. He has authored or co-authored 71 peer-reviewed publications and has been the lead investigator on 22 federally funded research grants. In the classroom, Friedrichs has proven himself an exceptional communicator who possesses the ability to make complex ideas and concepts understandable to students. He has been involved at a high level in many national and international panels, working groups, and steering committees. He served on the National Science Foundation's Coastal Ocean Processes Scientific Steering Committee from 2002 to 2008, and has been on the steering committee for Physics of Estuaries and Coastal Seas International Biennial Conference Series since 1996. He holds a doctorate in oceanography from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program.