Bess Ward | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | University of Washington (PhD, MS); Michigan State University (BS) |
| Known for | Biological oceanography, Biogeochemistry, Nitrogen cycle |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Oceanography, Biogeochemistry, Microbiology |
| Institutions | Princeton University |
| Thesis | Marine Ammonium-Oxidizing Bacteria: Abundance And Activity In The Northeast Pacific Ocean (1982) |
| Doctoral advisor | Mary Jane Perry |
| Doctoral students | Mary Voytek, Sarah Fawcett[1] |
Bess Ward is an American oceanographer, biogeochemist, microbiologist, and William J. Sinclair Professor of Geosciences at Princeton University.[2]
Ward studies include marine and global nitrogen cycles, and how marine organisms such as phytoplankton and bacteria influence the nitrogen cycle. Ward was the first woman awarded the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award from the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) for her pioneering work on applying molecular methods for nitrogen and methane conversions as well as scaling up organismal biogeochemical rates to whole ecosystem rates.[3]