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Cheryl Hapke Named New Director of St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in Florida

By Jess D. Weaver and Helen Gibbons March–June 2015 Double Issue

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U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research geologist Cheryl J. Hapke is the new director of the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, one of three science centers of the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program. USGS Southeast Regional Director Jess D. Weaver announced Hapke’s selection in April 2015; she assumed the duties of center director on a full-time basis on June 28.

“Cheryl is an outstanding choice,” said USGS Associate Director of Natural Hazards David Applegate. “She brings a unique set of experiences across multiple USGS science centers and programs, building extensive partnerships to tackle important coastal issues confronting our Nation. Her demonstrated ability to build cooperative projects will continue to be invaluable in her new role as center director.”

Above: New St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center Director Cheryl Hapke on a recent trip to the Grand Canyon, June 2015. [larger version]

Hapke is a research geologist with expertise in coastal-erosion hazards within a variety of geomorphic environments, including rocky coasts, barrier islands, and carbonate systems. Her USGS career began 18 years ago at the Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in Santa Cruz, California, where she studied coastal cliff erosion hazards and coastal landslide processes.

In 2005, Hapke moved to the East Coast, where she collaborated with the National Park Service, first through the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center from an office at the University of Rhode Island, and then through the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts (“USGS Woods Hole Science Center Welcomes Cheryl Hapke”). Her research focused on beach and bluff erosion hazards on various U.S. shores, including Fire Island, New York.

In 2011, Hapke transferred to the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, and in October 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit the U.S. east coast. Hapke’s research on Sandy’s impacts on Fire Island has contributed significantly to the broad understanding of how barrier islands respond to and recover from major storms (“Field Investigations at Fire Island, New York, to Better Understand Hurricane Sandy’s Impacts and Support Studies of Coastal Resilience”). In the months after Sandy, Hapke served a 3-month detail to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), where she provided expertise in coastal science to numerous federal and New York State agencies as part of the National Disaster Recovery Framework.

Above: Cheryl Hapke in the field at Fire Island, New York, during a beach survey on October 28, 2012, the day before Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey. [larger version]

“Cheryl’s career path, of working at all three USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program science centers, as well as with the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, gives her a unique and broad perspective of both USGS and the Coastal and Marine Geology Program goals, objectives, and roles within their respective regions,” said Southeast Regional Director Weaver. “Cheryl’s vision is one of unity and integration—from the community level in St. Petersburg to enhanced collaboration and resource-sharing across the multidiscipline science centers in the Southeast Region. Cheryl will be a tremendous addition to the Southeast Region Management Team as she welcomes the opportunity to build and strengthen integrated capabilities and coordinated research investment across both the Southeast Region and the three Coastal and Marine Geology Program science centers.”

Hapke succeeds Richard (Dick) Poore, who recently retired after in St. Petersburg for nearly 4 years serving as Center Director.

Decade of Fire Island Research Available to Enhance Understanding of Future Coastal Changes Jan. / Feb. 2014

Field Investigations at Fire Island, New York, to Better Understand Hurricane Sandy’s Impacts and Support Studies of Coastal Resilience September / October 2014

Dick Poore Is New Director of the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center Nov. / Dec. 2011

USGS Woods Hole Science Center Welcomes Cheryl Hapke September 2008

USGS Analyzes 70 Years of Coastal Cliff Retreat in California July 2007

Hyperspectral Data Analysis for Mapping Coastal Landslide Hazards Along the Big Sur Coast September 2004

Cheryl Hapke's Thesis Defense at the University of California, Santa Cruz August 2002

Coastal and Marine Geology Program USGS

Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center USGS

Patuxent Wildlife Research Center USGS

St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center USGS

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center USGS

National Disaster Recovery Framework FEMA

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March–June 2015 Double Issue

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in this issue:

Scientists Investigate the Virtually Unexplored Mariana Trench

Expedition Explores Deep-Sea Areas near Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands

Imaging Methane Seeps and Plumes on the U.S. Atlantic Margin

Some Communities May Not Have Time for Tsunami Evacuation

Mendenhall Postdoc Joins Estuarine Physical Response Project

Spring 2015 Monterey Bay Marine GIS User Group Meeting

Amanda Demopoulos Receives USGS Leadership Award

Fran Lightsom Receives Leadership and Innovation Award for Data Integration

Jim Hein Receives DOI Distinguished Service Award

Jim Jacobi Receives DOI Distinguished Service Award

Cheryl Hapke Is New Director of St. Petersburg, Florida, Science Center

New Maps Reveal Seafloor off San Francisco

March–June Publications