Professor Laurence Mee, Director of SAMS, was appointed to serve on the national Marine Science Co-ordination Committee from this week. Together with Professors Howard Roe (former director of the Southampton Oceanography Centre) and Dan Laffoley (Marine Principal Specialist for the Chief Scientist’s team at Natural England) he will be a non-executive members of the committee.

The Marine Science Co-ordination Committee was set up in 2008 to help the UK face up to future marine science challenges. If formed in response to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee report “Investigating the Oceans” to support the Government's vision for clean, safe, healthy, productive and biologically diverse seas and oceans. The committee will set the high level direction for UK publicly funded marine science, and is currently working on the development of a UK Marine Science Strategy.  Members of the committee are drawn from the key marine science funding Government departments, the Devolved Administrations and public marine science providers in the UK.

Professor Mee said: "This is the first time there has been a high-level committee to help guide marine science in the UK. In the current difficult economic times, the MSCC is an important opportunity for marine science to show its worth and to contribute to a sustainable marine economy. I am very pleased to join the Committee and am grateful for the committee’s trust.."