Scripps Welcomes Five New Faculty
Geoffrey Cook, James Day, Darcy Ogden, Stuart Sandin, and
Martin Tresguerres join Scripps’ academic ranks
Scripps Institution of
Oceanography/University of California, San Diego
This academic year
Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego welcomes five new faculty
members to its academic team. Their diverse research interests span the wide
scope of Scripps science, including studies of earth science, marine ecology,
and ocean acidification.
Geoffrey Cook
 
Geoffrey Cook is a new Scripps lecturer. Cook received his
Ph.D. in geology from Washington State University’s School of Earth and
Environmental Studies in 2008. He has served as a lecturer in the University
of Rhode Island’s Department of Geosciences since 2007. A passionate and
experienced teacher, Cook will help Scripps expand its course offerings in UC
San Diego’s Earth Sciences major and enhance the visibility of the program.
Although he specializes in igneous petrology and volcanology, Cook has a broad
range of knowledge of earth sciences. He comes to Scripps equipped to teach,
among other areas, physical geology, environmental geology, geologic hazards,
volcanoes and society, mineralogy, tectonics, and volcanology. Also, he is well
suited to design and implement new courses in the future.
James Day
 
James Day is a new assistant professor in Scripps’
Geosciences Research Division. Day, currently a postdoctoral research associate
at the University of Maryland, will be joining Scripps to maintain the
institution’s long tradition of excellence in geochemistry and cosmochemistry.
He’s experienced both in the field and in the lab as a petrologist, field
geologist, geochemist, and cosmochemist studying planetary evolution and mantle
geochemistry. Day is interested in understanding solar system formation and the
internal dynamics and formation of planets, especially Earth. His current
research includes the use of precise isotopic analysis and diverse petrological
techniques to understand high-temperature igneous systems, such as ocean island
basalt magmatism, lunar formation and evolution, core-mantle interaction, and
the differentiation of planets and asteroids.
Darcy Ogden
Darcy Ogden is a new assistant professor at Scripps’ Cecil
H. and Ida M. Green Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics. Currently a
Stanford University postdoctoral fellow in geophysics, Ogden is a theoretical
geophysicist who studies the dynamics of explosive volcanic eruptions. Her
current focus involves complex numerical simulation studies and she
specializes in adapting cutting-edge computational models to address research
problems. Working in a highly interdisciplinary area that blends geology,
physics, applied math, computer science, and aerospace and mechanical
engineering, Ogden takes advantage of supercomputing power to help solve
complex geoscience problems. When she joins Scripps early next year, Ogden
hopes to build a research group focused around computational solutions to
geoscience problems related to fluids and solids. Stuart Sandin
Stuart Sandin is a new assistant professor in
Scripps’ Marine Biology Research Division. His research focuses on community
ecology, investigating how organisms interact in complex marine communities.
His particular interests involve fish and fisheries, with the goal of
determining the best way to balance fishing demands today with the perpetuity
of fisheries for generations to come. Currently an assistant research marine
ecologist at Scripps, Sandin is highly skilled in translating the importance of
his research
and findings to the public. Most of his research
is conducted in tropical coral reef ecosystems of the Pacific and Caribbean.
Sandin has coordinated multiple ship- and land-based expeditions to the remote
islands of the central Pacific Ocean, with much work conducted in the Line
Islands archipelago. Of particular interest in the Line Islands is the gradient
of human disturbance across the archipelago—from uninhabited, pristine reefs to
moderately inhabited and human-impacted ecosystems.
Martin Tresguerres
Martin Tresguerres is a new assistant professor in Scripps’
Marine Biology Research Division. Currently a comparative physiologist and
postdoctoral associate at Weill Medical College of Cornell University,
Tresguerres conducts research on a wide range of organisms. His interests
include the evolutionary relationships between basic cellular functions and
complex “whole animal” physiology. Augmenting Scripps’ leadership in ocean
acidification, Tresguerres’ research at Scripps will include how marine
organisms sense and adjust to acid/base disturbances arising from environmental
and metabolic variations in carbon dioxide, protons, and bicarbonate ions. His
studies have included physiology, cell and molecular biology and biochemistry,
but also cover marine invertebrate ecology, marine mammal taxonomy, and
fisheries. Thus, Tresguerres has indicated that these experiences have trained
him to always consider the “big picture,” even while studying processes at the
molecular level.
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Scripps Department and Scripps Communications
November 3, 2010
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