FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Protecting Florida's Coasts

Rosenstiel School professor named to pivotal state council

VIRGINIA KEY, FL (October 11, 2005) — The University of Miami Rosenstiel School's Dr. Tom Lee is one of 15 ocean and coastal experts appointed to a new Florida council that will be pivotal in protecting Florida's marine waterways and shorelines.

The state of Florida announced that the council appointees will develop priorities for ocean and coastal research and establish a statewide ocean research plan. According to the State's news release, “the group will also coordinate public and private ocean research for more effective coastal management.”

Dr. Lee is a research professor of meteorology and physical oceanography at the Rosenstiel School and has spent a large portion of his career studying the Gulf Stream and its influence on Florida's coastal waters.

The Secretary for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Executive Director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation commission will co-chair the council, which is made up of 15 voting members and three non-voting members.

Dr. Lee holds doctoral and master's degrees in physical oceanography from Florida State University; and a bachelor's degree from the University of Florida. He has been associated with the University of Miami since 1970.

His research involves experimental/observational studies of ocean currents, ranging from local coastal currents to large-scale western boundary currents. His particular interests are in more local or mesoscale frontal eddies and how they influence cross-shelf transport and upwelling of new nutrients. Dr. Lee has a continuing interest in coastal processes and is presently conducting research on circulation in the south Florida coastal system including the Florida Keys, Florida Bay, and southwest shelf with implications for water quality and sustainability of coastal marine ecosystems.

Rosenstiel School is part of the University of Miami and, since its founding in the 1940s, has grown into one of the world's premier marine and atmospheric research institutions.

Media Contact
Ivy Kupec, Communications Director
University of Miami
Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science
305.421.4704
http://www.rsmas.miami.edu