Listening To Whales – A Journey from Harvard to St Andrews
Peter L Tyack, Professor of Marine Mammal Biology, University of St Andrews
Why would an American who worked happily at a premiere oceanographic institution in the USA (Woods Hole) for 25 years move to the Scottish Oceans Institute in St Andrews, Scotland? For two reasons: people and the intellectual atmosphere.
Professor Peter L Tyack from the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) at the Scottish Oceans Institute and Ted Talk speaker, will share his journey from Harvard to St Andrews in pursuit of understanding the communication and social behavior of marine mammals and the impact of man-made noise on these species.
St Andrews has a proud history in marine science, having the first marine lab in the UK founded in 1884 which is ideally situated alongside its wider university community. Industrialization of the oceans, coupled with our understanding that human well-being depends on healthy marine ecosystems, drives outstanding teaching and research in ocean sciences at the SOI, bringing together biologists, neuroscientists, psychologists, mathematicians and statisticians. Today, the SOI is an international hub for ocean science with the strongest mammal research program anywhere in the world. To advance this vital work, the University is investing in a new state of the art aquarium, research facility and visitor center opening in 2018.
Peter graduated summa cum laude in Biology from Harvard College and his PhD is in Animal Behavior from Rockefeller University. His PhD advisor was Donald Griffin, an early pioneer of studying animal sonar and animal awareness. He is an author of more than 100 peer reviewed scientific publications, served on four National Research Council Committees on the effects of sound on marine mammals, and is an author of three reports published by the National Academy Press and an editor of two books on animal behavior. He has served on the US Federal Advisory Committee on Acoustic Impacts on Marine Mammals, and testified to Congress and advised many non-governmental groups and government agencies on this topic.
Join us at The University Club in Boston on Wednesday, April 12 at 6pm for this fascinating opportunity to hear Peter Tyack discusses his research as part of the SMRU team at St Andrews, the vital role played by the Gatty Marine laboratory in oceanic and marine research advancements, and why the project to build a new and improved laboratory is so important.