About the Center

The Francis E. Fowler IV Center for Ocean and Climate is dedicated to the pursuit of new knowledge and solutions at the intersection of oceanography and climate science. Based at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the Center supports activities spanning physical oceanography, geology, applied ocean physics, marine chemistry, engineering, modeling, weather prediction, carbon dioxide removal, and many more key impact areas, as well as communications and policy engagement.

This support is provided through fellowships for established scientists to pursue climate research, as well as direct investments in research projects. The Center also supports efforts to engage the public and policymakers around ocean and climate issues.

An extraordinarily generous commitment from Francis E. Fowler IV in April 2021 enabled the activities of the Center to commence immediately, and paved the way to its establishment as a permanent center of excellence in ocean-climate research.

Leadership

Amy Apprill, Director

Dr. Amy Apprill provides vision and leadership for the Francis E. Fowler IV Center for Ocean and Climate. She is a microbial ecologist and leads the Microbial Ecology for Ocean Conservation Laboratory, which brings ‘omics research approaches to examine the ecology of microbiomes residing in association with sensitive animal hosts and ecosystems of the ocean. Apprill serves as Team leader of WHOI’s Reef Solutions Initiative, an initiative working to accelerate the convergence of interdisciplinary science and technology to develop robust, scalable solutions for the coral reef crisis. She is a tenured Associate Scientist in the Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry department at WHOI, faculty in the MIT-WHOI Joint Graduate Program in Oceanography and Applied and Ocean Engineering. Her work is featured in over 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications and numerous press releases. She received the Early Career for Environmental Research Award from the American Society for Microbiology in 2020.