Science Day is held every fall at the University to celebrate the 1996 opening of the Northern Maine Museum of Science. The goal of Science Day is to bring widely known scientists to campus to talk about current topics in science.
Dr. Pilkey’s discussion will focus on beach erosion, sea level change, and human influence on coastal environments. His research career started with the study of shoreline/continental shelf sedimentation, progressed to the deep sea with emphasis on abyssal plain sediments and back to the nearshore with emphasis on coastal management.
He is now a research professor and Director Emeritus of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines (PSDS) within the Division of Earth and Ocean Sciences in the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University. During his career, he has received several awards, including the Jim Shea Award for Public Service from the National Association of Geology Teachers in 19993, the Outstanding Public Service Award from FEMA in 1999, the Geological Society of America’s Public Service Award in 2000, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the North Carolina Coastal Federation in 2008.
Pilkey received his bachelor’s degree in Geology at Washington State College, his master’s degree in Geology at the University of Montana and his Ph.D. in Geology at Florida State University. Since 1965, he has been at Duke University with one-year breaks with the Department of Marine Science at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaquez, and with the U.S. Geological Survey in Woods Hole, Mass. He has published more than 250 technical publications and has authored, coauthored or edited 39 books.
All are invited to attend Dr. Pilkey’s lecture. For more information about Science Day, contact Dr. Kevin McCartney at 768-9482.