Dr. Michael Kemp's connection to global scale thinking began in graduate school, under the influence of H.T. Odum and his "gigantic ideas about how the world works," making connections between the natural and human environments. Being an ecologist naturally inspires a big view of systems. As it has turned out, what started as regional-based research on the Chesapeake Bay has come to have global implications, as hypoxia and other challenges facing coastal waters have become worldwide, largely through the influence of humans.

Studies of biogeochemical processes and ecological food webs represent research approaches that are applicable anywhere. The global scale focus on carbon and nitrogen cycling gives Chesapeake Bay research a global relevance, revealing how humans have influenced coastal systems around the world by the inadvertent release of nutrients and other contaminants.

Many regions around the world are experiencing hypoxia and eutrophication. Dead zones are a global problem with regional manifestations. For Michael, knowing that something he has done in the developed world is being applied in less developed regions is meaningful, allowing him to use his involvement in science to help solve real-world problems.

Angie Ward, Science Teacher - Beulah High School, Beulah, AL How Dr. Kemp excels at emphasizing the "big picture"