Awards and Honors
Oceanographer Kenneth Bruland honored by
two major scientific organizations
By Tim Stephens
Kenneth Bruland, professor and chair of ocean sciences, has
received two major honors this year: He was elected as a 2005
fellow of the American Geophysical Union and was chosen to receive
the 2005 Clair C. Patterson Medal for Environmental Chemistry
from the Geochemical Society.
Ken Bruland
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Bruland currently holds the Ida Benson Lynn Endowed Chair in
Ocean Health at UCSC. He is an expert on ocean chemistry and
the ways in which certain trace elements influence marine ecosystems.
Much of his research has focused on the role of trace metals
in the growth of phytoplankton, microscopic algae that form
the base of marine food webs.
Election as a fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU)
recognizes scientists who have attained acknowledged eminence
in one or more branches of geophysics and is one of the few
honors that the group confers. The AGU limits the number of
fellows elected each year to no more than a tenth of a percent
of its membership. Bruland's election recognizes his lifetime
achievements in the area of chemical oceanography. The award
will be presented at the AGU's spring meeting in New Orleans
in May.
The Geochemical Society's Patterson Medal is awarded to individuals
who have made an exceptional contribution to the field of environmental
geochemistry. The medal recognizes Bruland's record of highly
significant contributions to the field of trace-metal biogeochemistry.
It will be presented at the Goldschmidt Conference, the premier
annual meeting in geochemistry and mineralogy, in Moscow, Idaho,
in May.
Bruland and his students have pioneered the development of
clean sampling and analytical methods for the determination
of trace metals (and metalloids) in natural waters. His research
group has also pioneered the development of analytical methods
for the determination of the chemical form or speciation of
metals, in particular the degree to which metals such as iron,
copper, zinc, cadmium, and cobalt bind to organic compounds
in seawater.
Bruland has played a central role in studies of iron as a limiting
nutrient in large portions of the Earth's oceans. He has been
the chief scientist of major oceanographic research expeditions
studying the role of iron as a limiting nutrient, most recently
to the Bering Sea and the Peru upwelling regime. In addition
to his studies of metals as limiting nutrients, Bruland has
also pioneered research on toxic metals in both freshwater and
coastal environments. This work includes research on the chemical
speciation of selenium, arsenic, mercury, and lead.
Bruland has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications,
which have had a demonstrable impact on his field. He is listed
among the select group of "Highly
Cited Scientists" identified by ISI, a company that
specializes in analyzing the scientific literature. ISI compiles
lists of the authors whose work is most frequently cited by
other researchers. ISI's Highly
Cited Scientists represent less than one-half of one percent
of all publishing researchers.
Bruland joined the UCSC faculty in 1974. He received the Outstanding
Faculty Award in 2001-02 from the Division of Physical and Biological
Sciences. Bruland earned his B.A. in chemistry from Western
Washington University and his Ph.D. in oceanography from the
Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.
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