Appointment of James McManus as NSF OCE division director

The U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for Geosciences is pleased to announce that James McManus has been appointed as division director for the NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE) as of July 17, 2022.  

McManus has over 30 years of experience in marine and environmental research with a broad portfolio of accomplishments in marine chemistry, geology, biology and physics. He received his bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Stockton State College and his doctorate in oceanography from Oregon State University. He also completed postdoctoral research at the University of Southern California and Oregon State University. Since 2016, McManus has served as the vice president for research and administration at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences. He previously held the position of chair of the department of geosciences at the University of Akron and faculty positions at Oregon State University and the University of Minnesota Duluth. McManus served in NSF OCE under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) from 2008 to 2009.

McManus succeeds Terrence Quinn, who served OCE for four years. Quinn's direction in implementing the OCE decadal plan, "Sea Change," has greatly benefitted the ocean research community.