Our Views: Rabalais gets ‘genius’ grant

We congratulate marine ecologist Nancy Rabalais for receiving a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” in recognition of her important work advancing the preservation of Louisiana’s coastal environment.

The nonprofit MacArthur Foundation awards grants to a select group of artists, scientists and other prominent thinkers across the country to advance their work. Only 23 MacArthur fellows were named this year, and Rabalais was among the distinguished few.

MacArthur Fellowship recipients get $500,000 in no-strings-attached support over the next five years. Rabalais said she will use the money to advance research, education and outreach connected with her work.

An LSU adjunct professor in the School of the Coast and Environment, Rabalais directs the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium which coordinates coastal and environmental research among Louisiana universities. She’s focused her research on hypoxia, or oxygen depletion in natural waters.

We congratulate Rabalais on her MacArthur fellowship, which underscores the amount of talent in Louisiana’s scientific community. We hope that Rabalais’ honor will help throw light on the continuing ecological challenges for the Gulf Coast region, which should be a subject of national and, indeed, international concern.

Comments

1) Comment by BayouPhilosopher - 03/10/2012

First, Louisiana should be proud to have a MacArthur Award winner — most states did not have any. Plus, the Louisiana University Marine Consortium is doing something right in hiring and retaining Dr. Rabalais since 1985. But the LSU School of Coast and Environment barely affiliates with Rabalais (she is only an adjunct professor there). What are their full-time faculty members doing? Rabalais' three degrees are all from Texas universities. Has anyone from LSU's vaunted coast and environment school ever won a MacArthur grant —or anything else? Are their PhD's even getting on other university faculties? Every time I read about good ocean / environmental research, it is being done by someone from Texas, Florida, Massachusetts or even Alabama. I'm just asking — it seems like the LSU SCE is woefully under-performing. They should not take nor be given too much credit for Dr. Rabalais' achievement.

2) Comment by tradewinns - 03/10/2012

trying to undo nature is "preserving" natural environment?