[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 87 (Friday, May 25, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E737]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING DR. SUSAN WILLIAMS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JARED HUFFMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 25, 2018

  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dr. Susan 
Williams, a world renowned marine ecologist who died last month in a 
tragic car accident. Dr. Williams' scientific research on coastal 
ecology and her activism surrounding the expansion of marine 
sanctuaries have left an indelible impact on the world. Born in 1951, 
Dr. Susan Williams earned a bachelor's of science in biology, a 
master's degree in biological oceanography, and a doctoral degree in 
botany and marine biology. After finishing her doctoral program in 
1981, she conducted research at major marine laboratories across the 
world for three years. By 1986, after serving as the science director 
for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's 
National Undersea Research Program, Dr. Williams started teaching at 
universities while continuing her research. She became the director of 
the Coastal and Marine Institute at San Diego State University in 1990, 
and the director of the Bodega Marine Laboratory at the University of 
California Davis in 2000. Dr. Williams stepped down from that role in 
2010, and became a full-time professor and researcher at the University 
of California, Davis, until her death in 2018.
  Throughout her career, Dr. Williams' research underlined the 
connection between the health of oceans and the communities surrounding 
them. Her work on the ecology of nearshore marine ecosystems, seagrass, 
coral reefs, and invasive species helped illustrate the impact of 
warming oceans on coastal environments and yielded strategies for 
mitigating those impacts. Her work was heralded by the international 
scientific community, and provided the foundation for critical changes 
to state and federal policies addressing the management of coastal 
environments. As an educator and mentor, she had an immense impact: she 
supported students around the world, encouraged women in science, 
bridged international divides in her collaborations, and empowered 
others to be leaders in the field.
  During Dr. Williams' ten-year tenure as the director of the Bodega 
Marine Laboratory, she brought scientists from around the world to 
conduct research at the laboratory, while at the same time working with 
local schools and the community in adopting conservation practices 
based on the latest scientific discoveries. Through this work and her 
ongoing research, Dr. Williams became a valued advisor for state and 
federal officials seeking to protect the California coast. Nowhere was 
this more apparent than through her work in significantly expanding two 
national marine sanctuaries off the coast of Northern California: the 
Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and the Gulf of the Farallones, 
now known as the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. Both 
sanctuary boundary expansions were proposed in legislation in 2005, and 
were ultimately expanded to more than twice their original size by the 
Obama administration in 2015. Throughout that ten-year process, Dr. 
Williams was the driving force that propelled the policy forward.
  Mr. Speaker, Dr. Susan Williams' lifelong pursuit of knowledge has 
left a positive legacy across our country and the world. It is 
therefore appropriate that we pay tribute to her today, and honor the 
memory of a scientist who believed that no problem was insurmountable.

                          ____________________