LSU Coast & Environment Professor Receives Lifetime Recognition

LSU Professor Nancy Rabalais is the 2021 recipient of the Wes Tunnell Lifetime Recognition for Gulf Science and Conservation by the Gulf of Mexico University Research Collaborative, or GOMURC, and the second member of the College of the Coast & Environment to receive it. Dean Christopher D’Elia was the inaugural recipient who received it in 2019 at the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science Conference. Notably, last year’s recipient, Chuck Wilson, worked at LSU for many years and formerly served as the chair of the Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences. These three coastal scientists highlight LSU’s many contributions to the greater health and prosperity of the Gulf of Mexico.

“Nancy is beacon of professionalism, research, and teaching for our college who has contributed to groundbreaking discoveries in her field. Her impact will be felt by our colleagues for years to come. Having known Wes Tunnell, for whom this award was named, and I can’t think of a more deserving person to receive this honor,” D’Elia said.

This award was created in honor of John Wesley “Wes” Tunnell Jr., a prolific marine ecologist and biologist in the Life Sciences Department of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and Endowed Chair of Biodiversity and Conservation Science at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies.

“I worked with Wes for many years. Not only was he a dear friend but, like so many, I have tremendous respect for his professional accomplishments. Perhaps, nobody knew the challenges of the Gulf of Mexico better than Wes. I am truly honored that the Gulf of Mexico University Research Collaborative selected me as the recipient of the prestigious Wes Tunnell Award,” Rabalais said.

Rabalais is an LSU Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences professor and the Shell Endowed Chair in oceanography and wetland studies. Since the mid-1980s, she has dedicated her career to understanding and mitigating the effects of human-induced changes in water quality, particularly the long-term environmental impacts of excess nutrients and petroleum contamination on marine ecosystems. And, she has successfully advocated major national legislation and policy changes to protect marine environments.

She is renowned for her seminal research on understanding and characterizing hypoxia, or severe oxygen depletion, in the northern Gulf of Mexico where the oxygen levels in the bottom waters are so low in spring and summer that fish, shrimp and crabs cannot survive. In fact, her team recognized that much of the nutrients causing hypoxia in the Mississippi River originated from agricultural runoff caused by increased fertilizer application and artificial soil drainage.  

In addition to receiving the Wes Tunnell Lifetime Recognition, Rabalais was recently elected to the National Academy of Sciences for her distinguished achievements in original research.