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About Mark E. Luther

Dr. Luther is director of the Ocean Monitoring and Prediction Lab in the University of South Florida College of Marine Science, where he co-directs the Coastal Ocean Monitoring and Prediction System. Dr. Luther's research involves the combination of real-time ocean observations with numerical models of ocean currents and processes and their application to various problems ranging from water quality in estuaries to variability in large-scale ocean circulation and its relation to climate change. He provides operation and maintenance support for the NOAA/NOS Tampa Bay Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (TB-PORTS) through Marine Science Associates, Inc. (http://marinesci.com). Dr. Luther is the author of more than 97 publications (51 refereed) on various aspects of marine science and has presented invited lectures at numerous national and international institutions and conferences. He is active in national and international scientific societies and is a past Secretary of the American Geophysical Union Ocean Sciences Section. He serves or has served as a member of the US Global Ocean Observing System Steering Committee, the World Climate Research Program Indian Ocean Climate Studies Panel, the World Ocean Circulation Experiment Indian Ocean Scientific Steering Committee, the National Research Council US National Committee for the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, the Tampa Bay Harbor Safety and Security Committee Technical Subcommittee, and the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council Agency on Bay Management. From 1996 to 2004, he served as the US National Delegate to the International Association for Physical Sciences of the Ocean (IAPSO). He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (http://gcoos.org), a regional component of the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS; see http://www.ocean.us), and is a representative to the National Federation of Regional Associations of the IOOS. Dr. Luther serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors and is a founding partner of the Alliance for Coastal Technologies (http://act-us.info), a NOAA-funded partnership of research institutions, resource managers, and private sector companies dedicated to fostering the development and adoption of effective and reliable sensors and platforms. He is Chairman of the Marine Technology Society Florida Section and is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the St. Petersburg Pier Aquarium.

Positions

Present Associate Professor of Physical Oceanography, University of South Florida
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Disciplines


Research Interests


Grants

2019 Understanding Risk at Wastewater Treatment Plants in Tampa Bay During Extreme High-Precipitation Events
Tampa Bay Estuary Program/Tampa Bay Environmental Restoration Fund
Role: Principal Investigator
Colleague(s): S. Landry and S. Meyers
$42,849
2016 - 2019 SECOORA: Supporting Resilient Ecosystems, Communities and Economies - Operate and Maintain USF Costal Stations as Part of SECOORA-YR1
South Carolina Sea Grant/SECOORA
Role: Principal Investigator
Colleague(s): J. Scudder and C. Merz
$152,000
2004 - 2019 Tampa Bay PORTS Cooperative II
Greater Tampa Bay Marine Advisory Council-PORTS
$423,913
2011 - 2017 The Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT): Partnership Activities at the University of South Florida (Phase III)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Award Number CA10-24
Role: Principal Investigator
$298,350
2010 - 2011 Knauss Marine Fellowship – Heather Havens
Florida Sea Grant/NOAA
Role: Principal Investigator
$42,578
2010 - 2011 The Alliance for Coastal Technologies (ACT): Partnership Activities at the University of South Florida to Develop a National Waves Plan
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Award Number CA10-23
Role: Principal Investigator
$80,000
2007 - 2010 Standardization of Local Data Network Nodes in the GCOOS-RA
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
Colleague(s): F. Muller-Karger, Chuanmin Hu, and V. Subramanian
$149,509
2007 - 2009 Hurricane Surge Height Measurement System
Florida Hurricane Alliance
Role: Principal Investigator
$158,125
2002 - 2008 The Alliance For Coastal Technologies (ACT): Partnership Activities at the University of South Florida
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Role: Principal Investigator
$1,458,924
2002 - 2007 South East Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing System (SEA-COOS
University of North Carolina
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
Colleague(s): R. Weisberg (PI)
$1,384,046
2003 - 2006 Flushing/Residence Times for Discharges from the Piney Point Phosphate Plant in the USF College of Marine Science Three-Dimensional Hydrodynamic Circulation Model
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Role: Principal Investigator
$30,000
1997 - 2003 Observations and Modeling of the West Florida Shelf Circulation
Office of Naval Research
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
Colleague(s): R. H. Weisberg (PI)
$2,971,084
1996 - 2000 Development of an Integrated End-to-End Marine Contaminant Management System
Environmental Protection Agency
Role: Principal Investigator
Colleague(s): B. Galperin, E. VanVleet, N. Schmidt, M. Vincent, and C. Friel
$588,777
1995 - 2000 The Northeastern Gulf of Mexico Circulation Modeling Study
Minerals Management Service
Role: Co-Investigator
Colleague(s): Y. Hsueh (PI) and R. Weisberg,
$753,156
1994 - 1995 The design of a modeling strategy for Florida Bay
U.S. Dept. of the Interior/Everglades National Park
Role: Co-Investigator
Colleague(s): Boris Galperin (PI), M. A. Haines, and A. F. Blumberg
$41,070
1992 - 1995 Modelling Primary Production in the Arabian Sea
National Science Foundation
Role: Principal Investigator
$259,569
1993 - 1994 Satellite Data Products for Florida Waters on CD-ROM
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Role: Principal Investigator
$30,700
1992 - 1993 Mixed Layer Parameterizations in Models of the Indian Ocean Circulation
Office of Naval Research
Role: Principal Investigator
$121,623
1991 - 1992 Mixed Layer Parameterizations in Models of the Indian Ocean Circulation
Institute for Naval Oceanography
Role: Principal Investigator
$64,773
1991 - 1992 Modelling of Tidal Propagation in Rivers Using Data Assimilation
Florida Department of Natural Resources
Role: Principal Investigator
$10,000
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Professional Service and Affiliations

2014 - Present Acting CEO, The Pier Aquarium, Inc.
2010 - Present Science Advisory Council, Chairman, International Seakeepers Society
1995 - Present Director of Operations, Tampa Bay Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (GTBMAC-PORTS, Inc.)
Present Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Present Member, American Geophysical Union
Present Member, American Meteorological Society
Present Member, Marine Technology Society
Present Member, The Coastal Society
Present Member, The Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation
Present Reviewer, The Journal of Geophysical Research
Present Reviewer, The Journal of Marine Research
Present Reviewer, The Journal of Physical Oceanography
Present Reviewer, The Journal of the Oceanographical Society of Japan
Present Member, The Oceanography Society
2001 - 2017 Founding Partner, Alliance for Coastal Technologies,
2014 - 2016 Local Organizing Committee, National Homeland Security Conference 2016
2004 - 2011 Chairman, Florida Section, Marine Technology Society
2007 - 2008 Program Committee Co-Chair, International Oceans Institute-USA Coastal Cities Summit
2006 - 2008 Chairman, U.S. Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) Steering Committee
1996 - 2000 Managing Editor, HydroWire, An On-Line Newsletter for the Aquatic Sciences
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Honors and Awards

  • Control Data Corporation PACER (Program for Advanced Computing in Engineering and Research) Fellow, 1984-1986
  • City of St. Petersburg City Beautiful Commission Elva Rouse Award for contributions to environmental protection, 2007
  • USF Million Dollar Researcher Award, 2006
  • EPA Gulf of Mexico Program Gulf Guardian Award for Partnerships, 2011

Education

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1982 PhD, University of North Carolina
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1980 MS, University of North Carolina
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1976 AB, University of North Carolina
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Contact Information

Office Phone: (727) 553-1528

Email:


Articles (70)