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TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 1999 UMBI RESEARCH SCIENTIST RECEIVES $1 MILLION AWARD FROM MCDONNELL FOUNDATION BALTIMORE, MD -- Dr. Mercedes Pascual, research assistant professor at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute’s Center of Marine Biotechnology, has received a $1 million Centennial Research Fellowship from the McDonnell Foundation to pursue work in global and complex systems. The foundation has selected ten early career scientists and scholars from around the world whose work has the promise to contribute substantially to the development of knowledge and its responsible application in the next century. Two awards were made in each of five categories. "This is an incredible gift to creativity," says Pascual, who may use the award over a period of up to ten years. "The expanded time frame will offer an opportunity to focus on research that emerges as most important." Pascual will use the fellowship to continue her study of the dynamics of ecological systems, with a particular focus on nonlinear systems. "I am interested in how ecological systems — such as the population of marine organisms — change in time and space," Pascual explains. "Nonlinear ecological models are important to better understand and predict the complex interplay of biological processes and the external environment." Pascual notes, for example, that some of her current work in global and complex systems involves an application of nonlinear time series models to the dynamics of cholera epidemics and the role of such factors as climate in outbreaks of the disease, both currently and historically. She expects to apply her methods to other areas, including the dynamics of fisheries. Ultimately, she points out, a greater understanding of the many factors influencing various ecologies will enable the development of approaches to ecological problems that are multi-dimensional and will benefit the environment and its inhabitants. "Dr. Pascual is a highly-regarded, extremely talented research scientist whose solid body of work — and enormous potential — have been recognized by the McDonnell Foundation," comments Dr. Peter P. McCann, UMBI interim president. "We are delighted that she has received this prestigious award." Dr. Yonathan Zohar, director of the Center of Marine Biotechnology, adds, "Dr. Pascual’s research provides a strong contribution to our programs at COMB. She is an asset to our scientific community." A graduate of the Universidad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales in Argentina, Pascual received her master’s degree in mathematics from New Mexico State University and Ph.D. in biological oceanography from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program. She did postdoctoral work at Princeton University in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. An author of several publications, she has also received a U.S. Department of Energy’s Alexander Hollaender Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship and an Ocean Ventures Fund Award from the MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program. Among her memberships are the Ecological Society of America, The American Society for Limnology and Oceanography, the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and the Association for Women in Mathematics. The McDonnell Awards mark the 100th birthday of the late James S. McDonnell, whose company became the McDonnell Douglas Corporation. The Foundation was established in 1950. Candidates were judged by an international panel of distinguished scientists and scholars on the basis of scholarly promise, research excellence, and the ability to communicate the relevance of research to broad audiences. All candidates were required to write an essay discussing the importance of their research to issues facing society at the threshold of the 21st century. The McDonnell Fellows will discuss their work at a symposium on April 8 and 9 at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C.
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