Susan Shaw (conservationist)

Susan Shaw
Shaw examining a harbor seal
Born(1943-10-24)October 24, 1943
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
DiedJanuary 27, 2022(2022-01-27) (aged 78)
New York City, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Texas at Austin
Columbia University School of the Arts
Columbia University School of Public Health
SpouseCynthia Stroud
Parents
  • Edward Carrington Shaw (father)
  • Lois Bonner (mother)
AwardsSociety of Woman Geographers' Gold Medal Award
Explorers Club Citation of Merit
Gulf of Maine Visionary Award
Scientific career
FieldsEnvironmental health
Aquatic toxicology
InstitutionsUniversity at Albany, SUNY
Shaw Institute
Websitewww.shawinstitute.org

Susan D. Shaw (October 24, 1943 – January 27, 2022) was an American environmental health scientist, marine toxicologist, explorer, ocean conservationist, and author. A Doctor of Public Health, she was a professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the School of Public Health at the State University of New York at Albany, and Founder/President of the Shaw Institute, a nonprofit scientific institution with a mission to improve human and ecological health through innovative science and strategic partnerships. Shaw is globally recognized for pioneering high-impact environmental research on ocean pollution, climate change, oil spills, and plastics that has fueled public policy over three decades. In 1983, with landscape photographer Ansel Adams, she published Overexposure, the first book to document the health hazards of photographic chemicals.[1][2] Shaw is credited as the first scientist to show that brominated flame retardant chemicals used in consumer products have contaminated marine mammals and commercially important fish stocks in the northwest Atlantic Ocean.[3][4] She became the first scientist to dive into the Gulf of Mexico oil slick following the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion to investigate the impacts of chemical dispersants used in response to the spill.[5][6][7][8]

Recognized as an outspoken voice on emerging contaminants like plastic,[9] Shaw traveled globally to raise awareness on toxic legacy of man-made chemicals and its impact on public health and the environment.[10]

  1. ^ Cassie, Ron (April 8, 2012). "Diving deep: Susan Shaw, ocean crusader and environmental health pioneer".
  2. ^ Shaw, Susan (1983). Overexposure: Health Hazards in Photography. Friends of Photography. ISBN 978-0933286375.
  3. ^ "Speakers: Susan Shaw: Marine toxicologist".
  4. ^ Shaw, Susan D.; Berger, Michelle L.; Brenner, Diane; Kannan, Kurunthachalam; Lohmann, Nina; Päpke, Olaf (May 2009). "Bioaccumulation of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and hexabromocyclododecane in the northwest Atlantic marine food web". Science of the Total Environment. 407 (10): 3323–3329. Bibcode:2009ScTEn.407.3323S. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.02.018. PMID 19269019.
  5. ^ Gertz, Emily. "Marine Toxicologist Susan Shaw Dives Into Gulf Spill, Talks Dispersants and Food Web Damage". OnEarth.
  6. ^ Schor, Elana (July 30, 2010). "Oil Spill Dispersants Shifting Ecosystem Impacts in Gulf, Scientists Warn". New York Times.
  7. ^ Shaw, Susan D. "Consensus Statement: Scientists oppose the use of dispersant chemicals in the Gulf of Mexico" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 12, 2012.
  8. ^ Shaw, Susan D. (May 29, 2010). "Swimming Through the Spill". The New York Times.
  9. ^ TEDx Talks (October 5, 2018), Science, Lies, and Politics | Susan Shaw | TEDxMidAtlantic, retrieved January 24, 2019
  10. ^ Susan Shaw on the hidden danger of plastic in a world on fire | Plastic Health Summit 2019, October 10, 2019, retrieved February 5, 2020