Speakers
Speakers
Dr. Louis D. Druehl
Professor Emeritus
Simon Fraser University
Canada
Dr. Louis D. Druehl, Professor Emeritus, Simon Fraser University, has taught and conducted kelp-oriented research, since the 1960s. He led the 5-university committee that identified the site for the Bamfield Marine Station. From 1979 to 1984, he directed BC Provincial-funded research leading to the first commercial kelp farm outside of Asia. Since 1985 his SFU students and their students have pioneered DNA-molecular tools in understanding seaweed relationships. His Canadian Kelp Resources, Ltd. conducted kelp productivity studies for GE during the OPEC Crises, offers kelp farming workshop, and works with others on kelp restoration. Over the years, he has worked with Cubans, Russians, Americans, Brazilians on seaweed issues, and offered a UN-sponsored kelp biology course in Chile. Pacific Seaweeds produced with Bridgette Clarkson is a best-seller and award winner. He enjoys the naming of a diatom genus, Druehlago, a kelp species, Saccharina druehlii, and for a short time a kelp genus, Druehlia fistulosa. Presently, he and his wife Rae Hopkins reside in Bamfield where they continue marketing CKR kelp and servicing kelp-interested folks. Hobby-wise Louis is working on his fourth novel, enjoying Phyco-Buddies, and fighting off the ravages of old age.
Dr. Carolina Camus
Associate Researcher, Centro i~mar & Center for Biotechnology and Bioengineering (CeBiB)
University of Los Lagos
Chile
Dr. Carolina Camus is an Associate Researcher at the Centro i~mar & Center for Biotechnology and Bioengineering (CeBiB) at the Universidad de Los Lagos, and the Director of the Millennium Nucleus in Marine Agronomy of Seaweed Holobionts (MASH). Carolina is an ecologist and phycologist dedicated to sustainable seaweed production from ecological and agronomic perspectives. Her research is primarily centered around the sustainable aquaculture of macroalgae, using two species of economic and ecological importance as study models (Gracilaria chilensis and Macrocystis pyrifera). She delves into understanding the drivers of macroalgae productivity, managing their complex life cycles, and, recently, incorporating their interactions with associated microbial communities under the concept of the holobiont.
Her career spans academia, the private sector, and communities, allowing her to bridge the gap between knowledge generation and practical application for productive, social, and environmental benefits. This includes her participation in biotechnological projects demonstrating the feasibility of fermenting and producing biofuels from seaweed biomass, pilot projects transferring seaweed cultivation technology to artisanal fishermen, and current evaluations of the ecosystem services provided by cultivating giant kelp.
Chief Abraham Pelkey
SȾÁUTW̱ First Nation
Chair of the W̱SÁNEĆ School Board, Economic Development
Canada
Chief Abraham Pelkey of SȾÁUTW̱ First Nation was elected on July 6th, 2023. Chief Pelkey served on Council for four terms with 8 years in total. His leadership is informed by over two decades of experience spanning various sectors, including construction, marine industry, and Indigenous governance. Chief Pelkey managed and led multiple portfolios including land, finance, and housing, while holding positions of Chair of the W̱SÁNEĆ School Board, Economic Development, and the Lands Management Committee. His journey has been characterized by a commitment to excellence, leadership, and the strategic oversight of multifaceted projects, teams and initiatives. Chief Pelkey’s praxis is rooted in the belief that knowing our language enables us to know who we are, and where we come from. Our language, culture, teachings and history ensure that we continue to move forward in a sustainable manner that respects and is conscious of future generations. With the support of his community, Chief Pelkey will continue to lead and influence positive change. He remains dedicated to leveraging his knowledge, skills, and experience for the continued growth, well-being, and prosperity of SȾÁUTW̱.
Dr. Catriona L. Hurd
Professor, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS)
University of Tasmania
Australia
Dr. Catriona L. Hurd is a phycologist with expertise in the physiological responses of seaweeds to environmental drivers including light, temperature, water motion, dissolved inorganic carbon and nutrient supply. Her research currently focusses on the impacts of ocean acidification, ocean warming and marine heat waves on seaweed metabolism, the development of seaweed aquaculture in Australia, and on assessing the role of seaweeds in marine Carbon Dioxide Removal.
Special Session Speaker
Dr. Ira "Ike" Levine, Ph.D
CEO
Algae Foundation
United States
Dr. Ira “Ike” Levine, Professor Emeritus, University of Southern Maine and Chief Executive Officer, Algae Foundation, concentrating on marine biology, sustainability and global climate change. Dr. Levine earned his BS degree in Biology from SUNY Binghamton, a MS in Marine Science from University of South Florida and a doctorate in Marine Botany from the University of Hawaii. Dr. Levine’s efforts include 41 publications, 3 books and 102 national and international presentations. Dr. Levine has operated the largest seaweed farm in U.S. history, owned marine natural products and biotechnology companies and has been a professor at Universities of Hawaii and Southern Maine, and Duke University. Dr. Levine was awarded two U.S. State Department Fulbright’s: 2009-2010 New Century Scholar and 2016-2017 Distinguished Chair fellowships.
Dr. Jang K. Kim
Professor of Marine Science
Incheon National University (INU)
South Korea
Dr. Jang K. Kim is a Professor of Marine Science at Incheon National University (INU), Korea. He received his undergraduate degree from INU, and his MSc and Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut (UCONN), USA. Dr. Kim has served on various international, national and provincial committees including, UNDP/GEF YSLME Steering Committee, Yellow Sea Peace Forum, Coastal Management Planning Committee of Korea, Coastal Management Council of Incheon, etc. Dr. Kim is also an associate editor/editorial board member of Algae, Journal of the World Aquaculture Society, Phycological Research, Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, and Toxicology and Environmental Health Sciences.
During the past 25 years, his research has focused on interactions between marine algae and their environment. He is most interested in seaweed aquaculture and its applications. Specifically, Dr. Kim has worked on open water and land-based seaweed aquaculture, integrated multi-trophic aquaculture, and blue carbon ecosystem-based carbon dioxide removal. He has also conducted numerous collaborative research projects with international partners in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. He has hosted many knowledge exchange programs between Korea and the US or Europe for seaweed aquaculture and environmentally sustainable aquaculture.
Dr. Karen Filbee-Dexter
Marine Ecologist
UWA Oceans Institute
University of Western Australia
Australia
Dr. Karen Filbee-Dexter is a marine ecologist studying the drivers and patterns of long-term change in coastal ecosystems. Her research centers on climate-driven changes to kelp forests, including shifts to alternate ecosystem states such as turf reefs and sea urchin barrens, and expansion along some Arctic coasts. She is an expert in the production and export of seaweed detritus, and the role seaweed blue carbon plays in the broader ocean carbon cycle. She has helped develop new restoration approaches for kelp forests using Green Gravel, as well as explored novel methods to fund kelp conservation and restoration. Karen holds a Future Fellowship at the University of Western Australia and works as a researcher at the Institute of Marine Research in Norway. She obtained her PhD from Dalhousie University and is an adjunct professor at Universite Laval in Canada.
Dr. Michael Y. Roleda
Professor at the Marine Science Institute
University of the Philippines-Diliman
Philippines
Dr. Michael Y. Roleda is a Professor at the Marine Science Institute of the University of the Philippines-Diliman. His passion for tropical seaweed started in the early 1990s cataloguing biodiversity and worked on the biology and biochemistry of an agarophyte. Further graduate study and postdoctoral fellowships in Germany, Sweden, and Scotland enabled him to work on cold-temperate and polar seaweeds and microalgae with emphasis on their physiological responses to global climate change stressors (e.g., UVR, ocean warming and acidification). In 2004, he went bipolar– participated in land-based expeditions to Spitsbergen in the Arctic and King George Island in the Antarctic. His search for a niche brought him to the Southern Ocean in New Zealand and then back to the North Atlantic in Norway, where he started working on the food and feed applications of seaweeds. He came full circle in 2018– back in the Philippines working on the biodiversity of carrageenan-producing eucheumatoids (Kappaphycus spp., Eucheuma denticulatum, and Betaphycus gelatinus), led and improved the in vitro and hatchery gene banks with >200 unique strains undergoing genotypic and phenotypic characterizations, understanding their ecological breath and susceptibility to pest and diseases, and innovating mitigating measures.
Dr. Bridgette Clarkston
Associate Professor of Teaching
University of British Columbia
Canada
Dr. Bridgette Clarkston is an Associate Professor of Teaching at the University of British Columbia and the Teaching & Learning Honorary Associate in Undergraduate Education at the UBC Beaty Biodiversity Museum. She has a PhD in red algal systematics, served as Chair of the Education Committee of the Phycological Society of America and has published two best-selling field guides to seaweeds of the Northeast Pacific, one co-authored with Dr. Louis Druehl. Bridgette loves exploring the wonders of algae, be it with university students, children or the general public. Her work focuses on developing engaging and interactive algae-focused educational materials, including undergraduate curricula, public workshops and nature walks, and outreach activities for use in K-12 schools. One of her proudest career achievements to date has been supporting undergraduate students to create their own algae-themed children’s books, games, colouring pages, crochet patterns and more, many of which are published as Open Educational Resources.
Dr. Ole M. Mouritsen
Physicist and Professor Emeritus of Gastrophysics and Culinary Food Innovation
University of Copenhagen
Denmark
Ole G. Mouritsen PhD DSc is a physicist and professor emeritus of gastrophysics and culinary food innovation at the University of Copenhagen. He is an elected fellow of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, president of the Danish Gastronomical Academy, and appointed Japanese food ambassador. He is the author of several scientific books and about 500 scientific papers and reports, in addition to being recipient of a number of prestigious science and science communication prizes. He is passionate about seaweeds as foods. He has written books about lipids, sushi, seaweeds, umami, mouthfeel, cephalopods, vegetables, roe, the green transition, and Japanese condiments.
Mrs. Melania Lynn Cornish
Head Of Cultivation And R&D
Seadling Sdn Bhd
Canada
In 1988, Louis Deveau, founder and owner of Acadian Seaplants Limited, hired Lynn to oversee the quality of all aspects of his company’s seaweed activities. After 3 years, she left ASL to pursue her agricultural dreams, but she was eventually enticed back to Acadian Seaplants to apply her agronomy skills to cultivating seaweeds (phyconomy). Her early career with ASL taught her a great deal about the seaweed industry, the biology of macroalgae, the health benefits associated with it, and the conditions that influence bioactivities and nutritive value. She owes much to the many generous and knowledgeable mentors who have given me such exceptional guidance.
After a fascinating and intriguing 28 years with such a dynamic company, she became interested in the plight of the tropical seaweed farmers in SE Asia, and instead of retiring at 65, she decided to join SEADLING. It feels like she has been very fortunate in life, and armed with enthusiasm and experience, she looks at this work with SEADLING, a young, impact-based biotech company, as her opportunity to give back to the industry.