The Jerlov Award

Awarded in Recognition of Contribution Made to the Advancement

of Our Knowledge of the Nature and Consequences of Light in the Ocean

• 2006 Presentation to J. Ronald V. Zaneveld
  
  
• About the Award
  
  
• Nomination Procedure
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Presentation of the Jerlov Award to J. Ronald V. Zaneveld. Left to right: Tommy Dickey, Ron Zaneveld, and Larry Clark.

J. Ronald V. Zaneveld October 11, 2006 Ocean Optics XVII Conference Montréal, Canada

J. Ronald V. Zaneveld received the Jerlov Award in October 2006 for his numerous outstanding contributions to optical oceanography: development of novel instrumentation to measure inherent optical properties; observations of distributions of optical properties in the marine environment; theoretical advances in radiative transfer and modeling of light interaction with particles; and education of students and post-doctoral fellows in the field of ocean optics. Ron completed his B.S. degree in physics at Old Dominion University in 1964 and his M.S. degree also in physics from MIT in 1966. He then did his Ph.D. in oceanography at Oregon State University (OSU) in 1971 and rapidly transitioned from student to the head of the Ocean Optics group at OSU where he has spent his entire academic career. Ron became an Emeritus Professor at OSU in 2000. He has also had an impressive career in the private sector, co-founding two highly successful ocean optics companies, Sea Tech with Robert Bartz and Western Environmental Technology Laboratories (WET Labs) with Casey Moore. Both Sea Tech and WET Labs have advanced optical technologies and accelerated the oceanographic community’s access to precision optical sensors and systems.

Introductory Remarks by Tommy Dickey, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

It is a great pleasure to have led the nomination of Dr. Ron Zaneveld for this year’s Jerlov Award. Before reviewing some of Ron’s many accomplishments, I want to thank several people who contributed to the nomination. These include previous Jerlov Award winners Andre Morel, Ray Smith, and Howard Gordon along with Ken Voss and Alice Alldredge. Also, Mike Twardowski organized a wonderful set of support letters from Ron’s former students and postdocs.

I will try to be brief in my remarks tonight as Ron’s accomplishments are so well known and I am sure we all anxiously await Ron’s acceptance speech.

Ron completed his B.S. degree in physics at Old Dominion University and his M.S. degree also in physics at MIT. He received his Ph.D. in oceanography from Oregon State University where he progressed to his present status as Emeritus Professor.

Ron is quite unique as he has been able to conduct equally impressive academic and business careers as he has co-founded SeaTech and co-led WET Labs, the latter with Casey Moore. These two companies have advanced optical technologies and accelerated the oceanographic community’s access to precision optical sensors and systems.

Ron’s impressive research accomplishments can be divided into three major categories: (1) development of optical instrumentation and methodologies, (2) observational optical oceanography, and (3) theory and modeling of marine optical processes.

Ron’s contributions to optical measurements are numerous. Like Nils Jerlov, Ron recognized the need for optical instrumentation that could be deployed in the harsh marine environment. Early in his career, Ron began developing optical instruments for measuring inherent optical properties. Howard Gordon has aptly dubbed these instruments “gold standards.” These instruments are now used for not only optical oceanography, but also biological and biogeochemical oceanography and marine geology.

Ron began doing ocean observations in the 1970s and his instruments have been used in numerous field experiments, including Warm-Core Rings, Optical Dynamics Experiment, Biowatt, Marine Light in the Mixed Layer, Coastal Mixing and Optics, High Energy Benthic Boundary Layer Experiment, Hyperspectral Coastal Ocean Dynamics Experiment, and Thin Layers. Importantly, Ron’s research has enabled studies of astonishing new ocean phenomena such as ocean eddies, strong benthic currents, and hydrothermal vents with their spewing particulates.

Ron’s use of optics has been amazing, as he has used clever ideas to optically measure turbulence, near-surface and internal gravity waves, and thin layers.

In the area of theory and modeling, Ron has clearly advanced the understanding of theoretical and empirical relationships between optical properties of seawater. Much of his work has been based on first principles of radiative transfer theory and judicious use of observations. Ron’s work has also directly contributed to the development and application of ocean color remote sensing.

I wish to personally thank Ron for being a remarkable collaborator and loyal friend. I am really pleased to congratulate Ron and his lovely wife Jackie on this occasion and wish them only the best. Thank you.

Ron Zaneveld’s Remarks Upon Acceptance

It is a great honor to receive the Jerlov Award in Ocean Optics. The field has made great strides since I spent a summer at Professor Jerlov’s lab in the early 1970s. In those days, the focus was on radiative transfer. Since then, improvement of optical instrumentation has allowed measurements on the time and space scales of the physical parameters. Inversion of these optical measurements has led to the rapidly expanding field of bio-optics. Combined with remote sensing and the new small mobile platforms such as profiling floats and gliders, the field stands poised to resolve critical aspects of global biogeochemical problems.

I would like to thank TOS for sponsoring the Jerlov award, Dr. Tommy Dickey for his kind words and for chairing the nomination, and all my colleagues who wrote letters supporting the nomination. I want to acknowledge all my students, post-docs, colleagues, and the many collaborators who have made so much progress possible. It has indeed been a privilege and a pleasure to have been involved in the historic progression of Ocean Optics.

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Nils Gunnar Jerlov was an early leader in the area of ocean optics research. His name is recognized widely within the entire international oceanographic research community. Jerlov’s theoretical and experimental work on ocean optical and related processes helped form the foundation of modern ocean optical research. He proposed the concept of an optical ocean water mass classification and the Jerlov water types are familiar to many outside of the ocean optics community. His book, Marine Optics, published in 1976, remains widely referenced and is considered required reading for all students of ocean optics and ocean color remote sensing.

The Oceanography Society (TOS) commemorates Dr. Jerlov and his many contributions to the study of light in the ocean with an international award, established in his name, to recognize outstanding achievements in ocean optics and ocean color remote sensing research.

TOS is responsible for setting award policy, garnering nominations from the international research community, and selecting a recipient from those nominated. To be eligible for nomination, the recipient’s work must deal directly with the processes governing the interaction of light with the ocean and/or the consequences of such interactions. The award may be issued in recognition of research (theoretical or applied, field-based or laboratory-based, a landmark paper or lifetime achievement), a pattern of excellence in education, a history of service to the international ocean optics research community, or contributions to all of the above. In the end, the nominated individual must have significantly advanced our knowledge of how light interacts with the ocean.

The award consists of a bronze medallion designed by Judith Munk, a lapel pin, travel support to attend the Ocean Optics Conference, and a cash award. The deadline for nominations for the 2008 presentation of the award is June 1, 2008. Submit all nomination materials and direct all questions to: info@tos.org.

Previous Recipients

• 2006: J. Ronald V. Zaneveld, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
  
  
• 2004: Howard R. Gordon, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA
  
  
• 2002: Raymond C. Smith, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USA
  
  
• 2000: André Morel, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Villefranche sur Mer, France
  

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Nominations consist of

• a single master nominating statement (no more than 5 pages),
• a suggested one-paragraph citation of no more than 100 words,
• an abbreviated CV of the nominee, and
• up to 5 additional letters of endorsement (2 page maximum) solicited by the master nominator (only one of which may be from the candidate's institution - international endorsements are encouraged).

The master nominator serves as the point of contact. Submission of materials in electronic format is required. Submit all nomination materials and direct all questions to: info@tos.org.

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