Pikitch receives the Hugo and Anita Freudenthal Research Award

Ellen Pikitch, endowed professor of Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS), has received the 2024 Hugo and Anita Freudenthal Research Award for her significant contributions to advancing scientists’ understanding of the marine environment environment.

The award is presented by the New York State Marine Education Association (NYSMEA) and is presented to distinguished marine scientists or educators. Pikitch is the third recipient of the Hugo and Anita Freudenthal Research Award. It was presented to her on April 20 via a NYSMEA Zoom event.

“I am honored to receive the Freudenthal Award, named for two research pioneers who have made significant scientific contributions from ocean waters to space, and from local to global regions of the Earth,” said Pikitch. “I am also so pleased that this award is being presented to me by an organization in my home state, whose founders have played a pivotal role in launching my career.”

In addition to her faculty position at SoMAS, Pikitch is executive director of the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science, an academic institute with a mission to advance ocean conservation through science, outreach and action. It is based at Stony Brook University and has been led by Pikitch since she began her Stony Brook tenure in 2008.

Pikitch has been involved in marine research activities both nationally and internationally. Much of her research focuses on the science of ocean conservation, with an emphasis on marine protected areas (MPAs), fish conservation and fisheries sustainability, ecosystem-based fisheries management, and endangered fish.

Pikitch has received a number of global, regional and national awards and accolades, including the Hope Spot Champion Award, the Oscar E. Sette Award, the Ocean Hero Award, and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. (AAAS), The Explorers Club and the Pew Marine Fellows Program. She is also a member of the advisory boards of several international organizations.

“It is especially fitting that Dr. Pikitch is being awarded the Hugo and Anita Freudenthal Research Award because both she and the Freudenthals worked globally and locally,” said Lou Siegel, director of NYSMEA. “The New York State Marine Education Association appreciates Ellen’s commitment to explaining her research to local educators and the general public through presentations, including one for NYSMEA.”

Pikitch grew up in Brooklyn, NY and Siegel was her marine biology teacher at John Dewey High School in Coney Island.

The award is named after two pioneering marine science researchers and educators in New York State. Hugo Freudenthal was the first to recognize the symbiotic relationship between algae and corals in the 1950s and developed the first space toilet for NASA. Anita Freudenthal was the first and only marine biologist for Nassau County decades ago.