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Dr. Robert Worrest

Dr. Worrest (senior research scientist, Columbia University and CIESIN’s associate director for Washington Operations) is currently on temporary detail at the U.S. Geological Survey serving as chief scientist for the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII). Dr. Worrest has had more than 25 years of experience in ecological research and assessment related to environmental change and variability. Dr. Robert WorrestHe has numerous publications regarding the effects of stratospheric ozone depletion on the biosphere. He is a member of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Assessment Panel on Environmental Effects of Ozone Depletion. He contributed to the Climatic Impact Assessment Program related to potential impacts of SSTs on the ozone layer and was a member of the U.S. delegation for the UNEP Coordinating Committee on the Ozone Layer. In 1997, at the tenth anniversary celebration of the Montreal Protocol, he was awarded the UNEP Global Ozone Award for outstanding service for the protection of the ozone layer.

Before joining CIESIN, Dr. Worrest served as program manager for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Global Change Research Program and for the U.S. EPA Stratospheric Ozone Research Program. Prior to joining EPA, he was a member of the graduate faculty, Oregon State University, professor of radiation biology as final status. His past experience also includes serving as U.S. EPA staff member of the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1984), and the Interagency Arctic Policy Working Group. He was a member of the U.S. delegation that planned and promulgated the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy and its attendant Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Plan. He also served as EPA staff member for Subcommittee on Global Change Research Task Groups, Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences of the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology; Member, Steering Committee, Joint Climate Project to Address Decision Makers’ Uncertainties; Member, Marine and Coastal Ecosystems Directorate, U.S. Man and the Biosphere Program; president, Pacific Estuarine Research Society; governing board, Estuarine Research Federation; U.S. representative, WMO/UNEP Preparatory Meeting of Ozone Research Managers for the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer; and World Health Organization temporary adviser to the Task Group for Environmental Health Criteria Document for Chlorofluorocarbons. Dr. Worrest received his PhD in Radiation Biology, Physiology, and Zoology from Oregon State University.

Recent Publications

Häder, D.-P., H. D. Kumar, R.C. Smith, and R.C. Worrest. 2007. Effects of solar UV radiation on aquatic ecosystems and interactions with
climate change.
Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences 2007 6:267–285.

Häder D.-P., H.D. Kumar, R.C. Smith, R.C. Worrest. 2003. Aquatic ecosystems: effects of solar ultraviolet radiation and interactions with other climatic change factors. Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences 2:39-50.

Häder D.-P., H.D. Kumar, R.C. Smith, R.C. Worrest. 1998. Effects on aquatic ecosystems. In: Environmental Effects of Ozone Depletion: 1998 Assessment. United Nations Environment Programme. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology 46:53-68. Elsevier Science S.A.

Worrest, R.C. 1998. UV-B effects on aquatic ecosystems. In: LePreste PG, Reid JD, Morehouse ET (eds) Protecting the Ozone Layer: Lessons, Models, and Prospects. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell, Massachusetts. pp. 39-42. ISBN 0-7923-8245-5.

Häder D.-P., R.C. Worrest. 1997. Consequences of the effects of increased solar ultraviolet radiation on aquatic ecosystems. In: Häder D-P (ed) The Effects of Ozone Depletion on Aquatic Ecosystems. Academic Press, R.G. Landes Co, Austin. pp. 11-30. ISBN 0-12-312945-1.

This page last modified: Feb 01, 2008