Richard A. Lutz
Encyclopedia
Richard A. Lutz is an American
marine biologist and deep-sea oceanographer. He is known for deep-sea research using the Alvin
submersible, and is considered one of the world's foremost authorities on the ecology
of deep-sea hydrothermal vents.
Lutz is the Director of Rutgers University
's Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences
, the fourth best oceanographic institution in the world. In 2005 he served as Principal Investigator and Science Director of the IMAX
film Volcanoes of the Deep Sea
, which included footage and research from his numerous expeditions to study an active deep-sea caldera
on the East Pacific Rise
, at depths of 2500 meters. His research has been included in publications such as National Geographic, Science
, Nature, and American Scientist
.
from the University of Virginia
in 1971, and that year began attending the University of Maine
. While there he served as a research assistant at the school's Department of Oceanography, and earned his Ph.D.
in oceanography
in 1975. He continued in the University of Maine's Oceanography department as a Postdoctoral Research Associate until 1977.
Lutz then served two years as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Geology
and Geophysics
at Yale University
.
Lutz joined the faculty at Rutgers University
in 1979 as an Assistant Professor. He received his tenure in July 1984, serving as an Associate Professor until 1987. He worked in the graduate faculties for Ecology and Evolution, Geology, Cell and Developmental Biology, and Oceanography. He was given the Rutgers' Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Research in 1988. From 1989 to present he has been a professor in their Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences.
School positions
From 1985 to 1994 he also served as the Director of the school's Haskin Research Laboratory, and from 1985 to 1990 as Chair of the school's Department of Oyster Culture
. From 1986 to 1997 he served as the Director of the university's Fisheries and Aquaculture Technology Extension Center. In 1995, he became Director of Rutger's Center for Deep-Sea Ecology and Biotechnology.
(IMCS) at Rutgers. He has been the Associate Director of the IMCS since 1989. Lutz currently directs the Institutes research programs, and oversees the various field stations including the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory in Cumberland County
and the Multi-Species Aquaculture Development Facility in Cape May County. He also continues to serve as a professor.
In February 2011, Lutz was named Director of IMCS, succeeding Fransisco E. Werner. Two months later, IMCS was named the fourth top oceanographic institution in the world, based on a Reuters
survey of paper citations since 2000 and impact on the marine sciences. At the time, Lutz quoted "This is huge. We’ve gone from not being on the map 25 years, to 10th in the nation in 10 years according to the National Science Foundation … and now we’re fourth in the world."
of deep-sea hydrothermal vents in 1979. Since that year, Lutz has continuously spent time in various deep-diving submersibles studying thermal vents throughout the world's oceans.
In 1990, Lutz and Rutgers geneticist Bob Vrijenhoek embarked on a yearlong survey they dubbed a "Magical Mystery Tour" of most of the known hydrothermal vents and cold seeps in the eastern Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico
. They undertook a series of dives in deep-sea submersibles, chiefly in the Alvin
. On August 12, 1991, Lutz, diver Randy Hinderer, and biologist Van Dover became trapped in the Alvin 100 miles off the coast of Oregon
while searching for a deep-sea clam bed. The submersible was successfully recovered and all survived.
April 1991 eruption
In April 1991, Lutz joined a number of geological colleagues on an oceanographic expedition to explore an undersea eruption along the East Pacific Rise
. They used the deep-submergence vehicle Alvin
to dive to the depth of a mile and a half, or 2500 meters into the caldera
of the actively erupting volcanic ridge, the first time such an expedition had been attempted.
Lutz has since returned to the caldera at what are approximately annual expeditions to document the significant biological and geological changes at the site. He has also served as Chief Scientist on numerous oceanographic cruises.
film Volcanoes of the Deep Sea
, which was funded by the National Science Foundation
and co-produced by Rutgers University
. The film included footage, research, and stories from the deep-sea Alvin
expeditions of Lutz and his colleagues. The film received the award for "best IMAX film of the Year" at the Paris Film Festival, and in 2005 Lutz received the Scientific Literacy Achievement Award from the New Jersey
Association for Biomedical Research for his contributions to the film.
, Nature, a cover story in American Scientist
, and Discover Magazine.
He was associate editor of the Journal of Shellfish Research from 1981 to 1986, and on the editorial board for Critical Reviews in Marine Science from 1986 to 2000. He was also on the editorial board for Estuaries from 1987 to 1992, and the editorial board of reviewers for the American Malacological Bulletin from 1984 to 2000.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
marine biologist and deep-sea oceanographer. He is known for deep-sea research using the Alvin
DSV Alvin
Alvin is a manned deep-ocean research submersible owned by the United States Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The vehicle was built by General Mills' Electronics Group in the same factory used to manufacture breakfast cereal-producing...
submersible, and is considered one of the world's foremost authorities on the ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
of deep-sea hydrothermal vents.
Lutz is the Director of Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
's Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences
Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences
The Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences focuses on marine science-related education and research. IMCS was founded in 1993 on the Cook Campus at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. IMCS is the home of LEO-15, more formally known as the Long-term Ecosystem Observatory...
, the fourth best oceanographic institution in the world. In 2005 he served as Principal Investigator and Science Director of the IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
film Volcanoes of the Deep Sea
Volcanoes of the Deep Sea
Volcanoes of the Deep Sea is a 2003 documentary film directed by Stephen Low in the IMAX format about undersea volcanoes.-Production:Richard Lutz served as Principal Investigator and Lutz and Peter Rona served as Science Directors of the film, which was funded by the National Science Foundation and...
, which included footage and research from his numerous expeditions to study an active deep-sea caldera
Caldera
A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption, such as the one at Yellowstone National Park in the US. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters...
on the East Pacific Rise
East Pacific Rise
The East Pacific Rise is a mid-oceanic ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary located along the floor of the Pacific Ocean. It separates the Pacific Plate to the west from the North American Plate, the Rivera Plate, the Cocos Plate, the Nazca Plate, and the Antarctic Plate...
, at depths of 2500 meters. His research has been included in publications such as National Geographic, Science
Science (magazine)
Science was a general science magazine published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science . It was intended to "bridge the distance between science and citizen", aimed at a technically literate audience who may not work professionally in the sciences...
, Nature, and American Scientist
American Scientist
American Scientist is the bimonthly science and technology magazine published since 1913 by Sigma Xi. Each issue includes four to five feature articles written by scientists and engineers. These authors review research in all fields of science...
.
Education
He received his B.A. in biologyBiology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
from the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
in 1971, and that year began attending the University of Maine
University of Maine
The University of Maine is a public research university located in Orono, Maine, United States. The university was established in 1865 as a land grant college and is referred to as the flagship university of the University of Maine System...
. While there he served as a research assistant at the school's Department of Oceanography, and earned his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in oceanography
Oceanography
Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean...
in 1975. He continued in the University of Maine's Oceanography department as a Postdoctoral Research Associate until 1977.
Lutz then served two years as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
and Geophysics
Geophysics
Geophysics is the physics of the Earth and its environment in space; also the study of the Earth using quantitative physical methods. The term geophysics sometimes refers only to the geological applications: Earth's shape; its gravitational and magnetic fields; its internal structure and...
at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
Rutgers University
As professorLutz joined the faculty at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
in 1979 as an Assistant Professor. He received his tenure in July 1984, serving as an Associate Professor until 1987. He worked in the graduate faculties for Ecology and Evolution, Geology, Cell and Developmental Biology, and Oceanography. He was given the Rutgers' Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Research in 1988. From 1989 to present he has been a professor in their Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences.
School positions
From 1985 to 1994 he also served as the Director of the school's Haskin Research Laboratory, and from 1985 to 1990 as Chair of the school's Department of Oyster Culture
Oyster farming
Oyster farming is an aquaculture practice in which oysters are raised for human consumption. Oyster farming most likely developed in tandem with pearl farming, a similar practice in which oysters are farmed for the purpose of developing pearls...
. From 1986 to 1997 he served as the Director of the university's Fisheries and Aquaculture Technology Extension Center. In 1995, he became Director of Rutger's Center for Deep-Sea Ecology and Biotechnology.
Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences
In 1985 Lutz began serving as a Chairman of the Planning and Search Committee for the then-envisioned Institute of Marine and Coastal SciencesInstitute of Marine and Coastal Sciences
The Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences focuses on marine science-related education and research. IMCS was founded in 1993 on the Cook Campus at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. IMCS is the home of LEO-15, more formally known as the Long-term Ecosystem Observatory...
(IMCS) at Rutgers. He has been the Associate Director of the IMCS since 1989. Lutz currently directs the Institutes research programs, and oversees the various field stations including the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory in Cumberland County
Cumberland County
Cumberland County may refer to:In Australia:* Cumberland County, New South Wales, the original county of the colony* the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, AustraliaIn England:...
and the Multi-Species Aquaculture Development Facility in Cape May County. He also continues to serve as a professor.
In February 2011, Lutz was named Director of IMCS, succeeding Fransisco E. Werner. Two months later, IMCS was named the fourth top oceanographic institution in the world, based on a Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
survey of paper citations since 2000 and impact on the marine sciences. At the time, Lutz quoted "This is huge. We’ve gone from not being on the map 25 years, to 10th in the nation in 10 years according to the National Science Foundation … and now we’re fourth in the world."
Deep Sea Research
Lutz participated in one of the first biological expeditions to study the ecologyEcology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
of deep-sea hydrothermal vents in 1979. Since that year, Lutz has continuously spent time in various deep-diving submersibles studying thermal vents throughout the world's oceans.
In 1990, Lutz and Rutgers geneticist Bob Vrijenhoek embarked on a yearlong survey they dubbed a "Magical Mystery Tour" of most of the known hydrothermal vents and cold seeps in the eastern Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. They undertook a series of dives in deep-sea submersibles, chiefly in the Alvin
DSV Alvin
Alvin is a manned deep-ocean research submersible owned by the United States Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The vehicle was built by General Mills' Electronics Group in the same factory used to manufacture breakfast cereal-producing...
. On August 12, 1991, Lutz, diver Randy Hinderer, and biologist Van Dover became trapped in the Alvin 100 miles off the coast of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
while searching for a deep-sea clam bed. The submersible was successfully recovered and all survived.
April 1991 eruption
In April 1991, Lutz joined a number of geological colleagues on an oceanographic expedition to explore an undersea eruption along the East Pacific Rise
East Pacific Rise
The East Pacific Rise is a mid-oceanic ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary located along the floor of the Pacific Ocean. It separates the Pacific Plate to the west from the North American Plate, the Rivera Plate, the Cocos Plate, the Nazca Plate, and the Antarctic Plate...
. They used the deep-submergence vehicle Alvin
DSV Alvin
Alvin is a manned deep-ocean research submersible owned by the United States Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The vehicle was built by General Mills' Electronics Group in the same factory used to manufacture breakfast cereal-producing...
to dive to the depth of a mile and a half, or 2500 meters into the caldera
Caldera
A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption, such as the one at Yellowstone National Park in the US. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters...
of the actively erupting volcanic ridge, the first time such an expedition had been attempted.
Lutz has since returned to the caldera at what are approximately annual expeditions to document the significant biological and geological changes at the site. He has also served as Chief Scientist on numerous oceanographic cruises.
Volcanoes of the Deep Sea
Lutz served as Principal Investigator and Science Director of the 2005 IMAXIMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
film Volcanoes of the Deep Sea
Volcanoes of the Deep Sea
Volcanoes of the Deep Sea is a 2003 documentary film directed by Stephen Low in the IMAX format about undersea volcanoes.-Production:Richard Lutz served as Principal Investigator and Lutz and Peter Rona served as Science Directors of the film, which was funded by the National Science Foundation and...
, which was funded by the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
and co-produced by Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
. The film included footage, research, and stories from the deep-sea Alvin
DSV Alvin
Alvin is a manned deep-ocean research submersible owned by the United States Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The vehicle was built by General Mills' Electronics Group in the same factory used to manufacture breakfast cereal-producing...
expeditions of Lutz and his colleagues. The film received the award for "best IMAX film of the Year" at the Paris Film Festival, and in 2005 Lutz received the Scientific Literacy Achievement Award from the New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
Association for Biomedical Research for his contributions to the film.
Publishing
Lutz has over 175 publications to his name. Lutz's studies on the deep-sea caldera have been featured in many scientific journals and magazines including three issues of National Geographic, ScienceScience (magazine)
Science was a general science magazine published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science . It was intended to "bridge the distance between science and citizen", aimed at a technically literate audience who may not work professionally in the sciences...
, Nature, a cover story in American Scientist
American Scientist
American Scientist is the bimonthly science and technology magazine published since 1913 by Sigma Xi. Each issue includes four to five feature articles written by scientists and engineers. These authors review research in all fields of science...
, and Discover Magazine.
He was associate editor of the Journal of Shellfish Research from 1981 to 1986, and on the editorial board for Critical Reviews in Marine Science from 1986 to 2000. He was also on the editorial board for Estuaries from 1987 to 1992, and the editorial board of reviewers for the American Malacological Bulletin from 1984 to 2000.
Memberships
- World Mariculture Society
- Society for Integrative and Comparative BiologySociety for Integrative and Comparative BiologyThe Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology is organized to integrate the many fields of specialization which occur in the broad field of biology. The society is dedicated to promoting the pursuit and dissemination of important information relating to biology...
- American Association for the Advancement of ScienceAmerican Association for the Advancement of ScienceThe American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
- Estuarine Research Federation
- New England Estuarine Research Federation
- American Geophysical UnionAmerican Geophysical UnionThe American Geophysical Union is a nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting of over 50,000 members from over 135 countries. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international field of geophysics...
- American Malacological Union
- National Shellfisheries Association (President 1983-1984)