Nancy Foster
Born
Electra, Texas
Died27 June 2000 (age 59)
Baltimore, Maryland
Other namesNancy Foster Geraci
Alma mater
OccupationOceanographer
Awards Department of Commerce Gold Medal
Scientific career
Thesis'On the Spionidae (Polychaeta) of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea' (1969)

Nancy Marie Foster was the director of the National Ocean Service. She is known for her work in protecting marine environments, linking conservation groups and fisherman, and expanding research in marine environments.

Early life and education

Nancy Foster was born in Electra, Texas, received her undergraduate degree from Texas Woman's College, and went on to earn a master's degree in marine biology from Texas Christian University.[1][2] She earned her Ph.D. in marine biology from George Washington University in 1969.[1][2][3] A Smithsonian associate in the late 1960s while at George Washington, she conducted a portion of her dissertation research with Meredith Leam Jones[2][4] and Marian H. Pettibone at the Smithsonian Institution.[2] She wrote several papers on polychaetes at George Washington.[2]

Career

Foster worked at the United States Fish and Wildlife Service[1] In 1969, while still associated with the Smithsonian Institution[2] she became chair of the biology department at Dunbarton College of the Holy Cross, a position she held into the 1970s.[1][5][6] Her students included Cynthia Ahearn.[2]

Foster joined the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 1977, working in its Research and Development Office.[1][5] She was the director of the Office of Protected Resources in NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) from 1986 until 1993,[1] subsequently advancing to the position of deputy assistant administrator of the NMFS by 1997.[1] While at the NMFS, she established NOAA's Chesapeake Bay Office in Annapolis, Maryland, and NOAA's Office of Habitat Conservation.[1]

After leaving the NMFS, Foster was the director of NOAA's National Ocean Service from 1997 until her death in 2000.[1][5][7] As director, she led a reorganization of the NMFS and to make it into a more efficient, responsive, and scientifically rigorous agency and also created the NOAA Habitat Restoration Center and the National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank.[2]

Foster is known for her work in the protection of fish habitats and coastal environments,[5] and spoke to the United States Congress about research conducted in [United States National Marine Sanctuaries.[8]

Foster died of a brain tumor at her home in Baltimore, Maryland, on June 27, 2000, at the age of 59.[1][5] Upon her death Senator Fritz Hollings published a tribute in the Congressional Record to honor Foster's contributions to marine science.[9]

Honors and awards

NOAAS Nancy Foster is NOAA a coastal oceanography vessel.

In 1993, Foster received a Department of Commerce Gold Medal.[1][5] In 1997, Foster was the first recipient of the Dr. Nancy Foster Award for Habitat Conservation, given to her in recognition of her work in establishing the Office of Habitat Conservation.[1]In 1999, she received a Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Service.[1][10]

In 2000, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) honored Foster by creating a scholarship program in her name for women and members of minority groups.[11] The Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program was signed into law on November 13, 2000.[12][13] In the spring of 2000,[1] NOAA's Dr. Nancy Foster Florida Keys Environmental Center was named in Foster's honor[1] and funded through the U.S. Department of Commerce,[14] and she received the Fred M. Packard Award in 2000 to recognize her work in establishing marine protected areas.[15]

NOAAS Nancy Foster (R 352), a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel, was commissioned on May 10, 2004.[16] The Nancy Foster was originally built as a Navy yard torpedo test craft, Agate Pass (YTT 12), at McDermott Shipyards in Amelia, Louisiana, and launched in September 1990.[17] In 2001, the Navy transferred the vessel to NOAA, outfitted to conduct coastal research along the United States East and Gulf Coasts and in the Caribbean.[16]

Personal life

While a Smithsonian associate in the 1960s, Foster met and married Roger Cressey.[2] They later divorced. Foster's later marriage to Jerry Cramer also ended in divorce.[1] She married Joseph R. Geraci in May 2000.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "Nancy Foster Dies at 59". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Cole, Linda (2000). "A scientist and pioneer remembered" (PDF). No Bones Newsletter Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  3. ↑ Foster, Nancy Marie (1969). On the Spionidae (Polychaeta) of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea (Thesis). OCLC 26647435.
  4. ↑ Foster, Nancy M. (1971). "Notes on Spionid (Polychaeta) Setae". Transactions of the American Microscopical Society. 90 (1): 34–42. doi:10.2307/3224895. ISSN 0003-0023. JSTOR 3224895.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Nancy Foster Geraci, 59, coast conservation champion". Baltimore Sun. 29 June 2000. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
  6. ↑ Foster, Nancy (1972). "Biota of Freshwater Ecosystems Identification Manual 4: Freshwater Polychaetes (Annelida) of North America". nepis.epa.gov. Retrieved 2022-01-15.
  7. ↑ "Dr. Nancy Foster". Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
  8. ↑ "Research being conducted in national marine sanctuaries". United States Government Printing Office. January 1, 1998. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  9. ↑ "Tribute to Dr. Nancy Foster" (PDF). Government Printing Office. June 28, 2000. p. 12862.
  10. ↑ Group, NOAA Women's Employee Resource (2020-10-30). "In Their Own Words: Women Doing NOAA's Work". ArcGIS StoryMaps. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  11. ↑ https://fosterscholars.noaa.gov/
  12. ↑ Congressional Record, V. 146, Pt. 12, July 27, 2000 to September 13, 2000|Publisher:Government Printing Office, 2005.
  13. ↑ United States Code. Supplement III. p. 293
  14. ↑ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and National Marine Fisheries Service budget requests for fiscal year 2002: oversight hearing before the Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife, and Oceans of the Committee on Resources, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Seventh Congress, first session, May 3, 2001, Volume 4. United States Congress. House Committee on Resources. Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife, and Oceans. U.S. G.P.O., 2002.
  15. ↑ "Packard Awardees". IUCN. 2016-02-19. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  16. 1 2 "Specifications | Office of Marine and Aviation Operations". www.omao.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  17. ↑ "Torpedo Trials Craft (YTT)". www.navsource.org. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
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