New Editorial Board Member

Abstract

KENNETH LEE*CentreforOffshoreOilandGasEnvironmentalResearch(COOGER),FisheriesandOceansCanada,BedfordInstituteofOceanography,P.O.Box1006,Dartmouth,NS,CanadaB2Y4A2Kenneth Lee received his B.Sc. degree in marinebiology (Dalhousie University,1975) and M.Sc. andPh.D. degrees in limnology and microbial ecology(University of Toronto,1977,1982). Next,Dr. Lee wasa Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Natural Sciences andEngineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) towork with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans(DFO) at the Institute of Ocean Sciences,BritishColumbia,Canada. His research was on the role ofmicroorganisms in the biodegradation of crude oiland oil dispersants in pelagic ecosystems. Upon com-pletion of this work,in 1984,he set up a consultingcompany in Nova Scotia,Canada,focusing on appliedresearch in chemical oceanography and microbialecology. Clients ranged from government agencies toindustry and academia,and projects spanned suchdiverse topics as the significance of bacteria to scallopnutrition,the assessment of toxicity in dredge spoils,and microbiological studies of natural submarineoil and gas seeps in the Canadian Arctic. In 1989,Dr. Lee joined DFO as Head of the Microbiology andHydrocarbons Section at the Maurice LamontagneInstitute in Mont-joli,Quebec,and implementedprograms on the microbial transformation of contam-inants in estuarine and coastal environments,whichencompassed research on the development and eval-uation of oil spill countermeasure technologies such asbioremediation,and the development and validationof toxicity assays for environmental impact assessment.These activities and experiences led and expandedDr. Lees research interests into the evaluation ofpotential contaminant impacts associated with off-shore oil and gas activities and subsequently led to atransfer to his native Nova Scotia to join the MarineEnvironmental Sciences Division at the Bedford In-stitute of Oceanography in Dartmouth,culminating inan appointment as Executive Director of the Centrefor Offshore Oil and Gas Environmental Research(COOGER). The centre is responsible for the coordi-nation of a national strategic program in environ-mental and oceanographic research relating to oil andgas activities within the DFO mandates. Here,hiscurrent responsibilities include the identification ofdepartmental research priorities and the promotion ofnational and international collaborative researchprograms.The signature of Dr. Lees international researchprograms is their comprehensive nature. Large-scalefield studies in oil spill countermeasures aim to im-prove the understanding of the complex environmen-tal interactions that influence remedial activities.Ongoing research programs have identified the primaryfactors controlling the efficacy of insitubioremedia-tiontechniques.Wetlandremediationisproblematicasconventionalphysicaltechniquescancausemorehabitatdamagethantheoilitself.Toaddressthis,Dr.Leerecentlyconductedstudiesonnaturalrecov-eryandphytoremediationtechniques(plant-enhancedcontaminantdegradation)toprovidealternativetreat-ment options. Intertidal shoreline studies follow-ingtheExxonValdezincidentsuggestedthatnaturalprocessesbetweenoilandmineralfinessignificantlyalteredthetransport,fateandbiologicaleffectsofoilspilledinaquaticenvironments.Dr.Leehasfollowed