Our Views: Rabalais gets genius grant

By Opinion, The Advocate, Baton Rouge
3 October 2012

We congratulate marine ecologist Nancy Rabalais for receiving a

MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” in recognition of her important
work advancing the preservation of Louisiana’s coastal environment.
 
The nonprofit MacArthur Foundation awards grants to a select group of
artists, scientists and other prominent thinkers across the country to
advance their work. Only 23 MacArthur fellows were named this year,
and Rabalais was among the distinguished few.
 
MacArthur Fellowship recipients get $500,000 in no-strings-attached
support over the next five years. Rabalais said she will use the money to
advance research, education and outreach connected with her work.
 
An LSU adjunct professor in the School of the Coast and Environment,
Rabalais directs the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium which
coordinates coastal and environmental research among Louisiana
universities. She’s focused her research on hypoxia, or oxygen depletion
in natural waters.
 
We congratulate Rabalais on her MacArthur fellowship, which
underscores the amount of talent in Louisiana’s scientific community.
We hope that Rabalais’ honor will help throw light on the continuing
ecological challenges for the Gulf Coast region, which should be a subject
of national and, indeed, international concern.