Staff Profile
Susan Wijffels
Preferred Name: Susan Wijffels
Senior Scientist
Physical Oceanography
Email: swijffels@whoi.edu
Phone: 508 289 2546
Office: Clark Laboratory-2nd Floor Room 200-220
Address:
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,
Mail Stop 29
266 Woods Hole Road
Woods Hole, MA 02543
Lab/Group Site: https://www2.whoi.edu/site/argo/
Education
Professional Preparation:
Flinders University of South Australia,School of Earth Sciences, Adelaide, South Australia, Oceanography, B.Sc., Hons First Class, 1986
MIT/WHOI Joint Program, Woods Hole, MA, Physical Oceanography, Ph.D., 1993
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, Postdoctoral Fellow, 1993-1994
CSIRO Division of Oceanography, Australia, Postdoctoral Fellow, 1994-1995
Appointments:
June 2017-present Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
2014-June, 2020 CSOF8 Research Scientist, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Australia
2011–2014 Theme Leader of The Dynamic Ocean, Wealth from Oceans Flagship, CSIRO
2003–2010 CSOF7 Research Scientist, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Australia
1999–2002 CSOF6 Research Scientist, CSIRO Marine Research, Australia
1995–1999 CSOF5 Research Scientist, CSIRO Marine Research, Australia
Research Statement
Susan aims to quantify and understand the role of the ocean in climate, key aspects of the large-scale ocean circulation and global ocean change. She also is recognised for her contributions to the design, implementation and exploitation of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). Her work at WHOI will focus on her long term interests in the variability of the Indonesian Throughflow and its role in climate, the global Argo project and the evolution of its design (she is co-chair of the International Argo Steering Team), decadal ocean variability, quantifying global ocean change and its drivers.
Service Activities:
- Co-chairs the International Argo Steering Team, helping guide and coordinate this crucial global ocean observing network, and its future evolution, 2010-present
- Co-chairs the TPOS2020 BackBone Task Team, and is a member of the TPOS2020 Steering Committee.
- MPOWR mentor, 2020 – present.
- NOAA Climate Working Group, providing advice to the NOAA Science Advisory Board, 2019-present
- Euro-Argo Science and Technical Advisory Group, 2014-present
- Euro-Sea Science and Technical Board, 2020-present
Awards received:
University Medal, Flinders University, 1986
Commonwealth Postgraduate Fellowship, 1987
Caltex Australia Woman Graduate Fellowship, 1987-1989
NASA Graduate Fellowship in Global Change Research, 1990-1993
Dorothy Hill Award, Australian Academy of Sciences, 2004.
CSIRO Performance Award for leading and completing INSTANT field work: measuring the Indonesian Throughflow
R. Banks Award, Royal Society of Tasmania, 2009
Priestly Medal, Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society, 2009
Tasmanian Women’s Honour Role, 2011
R.H. Clarke Lecturer, Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society, 2016
American Geophysics Union’s Sverdrup Lecture, 2016
Students supervised:
Mauricio Mata, Flinders University of South Australia, Studies of the East Australia Current, Ph.D granted, 2001.
Catia Domingues, Flinders University of South Australia, Studies of the Leeuwin Current, Ph.D granted, 2006.
Paul Durack, Quantitative Marine Science Program, University of Tasmania, Ph.D granted, 2011.
Kyla Drushka, CSIRO Fullbright Fellow, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 9/2009-3/2011
Mauro Vargas, Quantitative Marine Science Program, University of Tasmania, Ph.D. granted, 2014
Veronique Lago, Quantitative Marine Science Program, University of Tasmania, Ph. D., granted, 2018.
Ana Berger, Quantitative Marine Science Program, University of Tasmania, Ph.D., granted, 2020.
Cora Hersh, WHOI-MIT Joint Program, Ph.D., underway.
Postdoctoral advisees:
Ming Feng, 10/1999-10/2001
Helen Phillips, 11/2002-11/2005
Katsurou Katsumata, 4/2005-7/2006
Jean-Baptiste Sallee, 2/2008-2010
Damien Irving, 2/2016 – 2019
Andy Je-Yuan Hsu, 2017-2020
Ray Shi, 2021-present
