François M. M. Morel

François M. M. Morel is a French-American biogeochemist.[1] He is known for his research on ocean acidification, mercury pollution, the only known cadmium metalloenzyme, and the interactions between trace metals and microorganisms.

François M. M. Morel
Born11 October 1944
Versailles, France
Alma materUniversity of Grenoble, France
California Institute of Technology
Scientific career
FieldsBiogeochemistry
InstitutionsMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Princeton University

Early life and education

Morel grew up in Versailles, France.[2] Morel attended the University of Grenoble, France and earned his B.S. in Applied Mathematics in 1966.[3][4][5] He went on to earn his Diplôme d’Ingénieur the next year in 1967.[2][5][4][3] In 1971, Morel obtained a Ph.D. in Engineering Sciences from California Institute of Technology.[2][3][4]

Research and career

From 1973 to 1994, Morel was a faculty member of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,[1][3] and, from 1994 to 2018, he was a professor in Princeton University's Department of Geosciences.[2][3][6] His research and that of his students and postdoctoral researchers dealt the interactions between the chemical composition of natural waters and aquatic microorganisms.[7] The development of computational methods to quantify the reactions among the many chemical species in aquatic systems provided the means to study quantitatively the interactions between microbes and chemical elements and compounds present in natural waters, with a focus on essential metals that are required for the growth of phytoplankton.[2] This work encompassed the cycling and methylation of mercury,[8] the contributions of metals to the nitrogen cycle,[9] the use of cadmium by marine microalgae,[10] the uptake mechanisms of iron and zinc by plankton,[11] and the effects of ocean acidification on microorganisms.[1][2][4][12][13]

REDEQL

As a postdoctoral fellow in Environmental Engineering Sciences from 1971-1973, Morel collaborated with James (Jim) J. Morgan to produce the computer program REDEQL (where RED stands for "redox" and EQL stands for "equilibrium"), which computed complex chemical equilibria in natural waters and man-made chemical systems.[1][14][7] Morel and Morgan's creation of REDEQL was supported by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and was widely adopted and built upon.[14][7]

Ocean acidification

In 2009, Morel chaired the Committee on the Development of an Integrated Science Strategy for Ocean Acidification Monitoring, Research, and Impacts Assessment.[15][16] This committee published the report Ocean Acidification: A National Strategy to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Ocean, which detailed the unprecedented acidifying of the ocean's pH due to anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions, the potential adverse impacts on marine organisms dependent on calcium carbonate, and the need for more information and international cooperation.[13][15][16]

Appointments

Morel founded and directed the Center for Environmental BioInorganic Chemistry from 1998 to 2007.[2][1] From 1998–2004 and from 2014–2017, Morel served as the director of Princeton Environmental Institute,[1] which was later renamed to the High Meadows Environmental Institute in 2020.[17]

Retirement

Morel retired in 2018.[2][6]

Awards and honors

Selected publications
  • Xu Y., L.Feng, P.D. Jeffrey, Y.G. Shi and F. M. M Morel, Structure and metal exchange in the cadmium carbonic anhydrase of marine diatoms. Nature, 452: 56–61 (2008). 10.1038/nature06636
  • Hopkinson, B.M., C.L. Dupont, A.E. Allen and F. M. M. Morel. Efficiency of the CO2 concentrating mechanism of diatoms. PNAS, 108 (10) 3830–3837. (2011)
  • Shaked, Y., A.B. Kustka and F. M. M. Morel. A general kinetic model for iron acquisition by eukaryotic phytoplankton. Limnology & Oceanography, 50(3): 872–882 (2005).
  • Schaefer, J.K., and F. M. M. Morel. High methylation rates of mercury bound to cysteine by Geobacter sulfurreducens. Nature Geoscience. (2009)
  • Shi, D., Y. Xu, B.M. Hopkinson, and F. M. M. Morel. Effect of ocean acidification on iron availability to marine phytoplankton. Science 327: 676–679 (2010)
  • Price, N.M., B.A. Ahner and F. M. M. Morel. The Equatorial Pacific Ocean: grazer-controlled phytoplankton populations in an iron-limited ecosystem. Limnology & Oceanography, 39: 520–534 (1994).
  • Farley, K.J., D.A. Dzombak and F. M. M. Morel. A surface precipitation model for the sorption of cations on metal oxides. J. Coll. Inter. Sci. 106:1 (1985).
  • Waite, T.D. and F. M. M. Morel. Photoreductive dissolution of colloidal iron oxide: Effect of citrate. J. Coll. Inter. Sci. 102:1 (1984).
  • Kraepiel, A.M.L., K. Keller, and F. M. M. Morel. A model for metal adsorption on clays. J.Colloid and Interface Science, 210: 43–54 (1999).
  • Price, N.M., B.A. Ahner and F. M. M. Morel. The Equatorial Pacific Ocean: grazer-controlled phytoplankton populations in an iron-limited ecosystem. Limnology & Oceanography, 39: 520–534 (1994).

References
  1. "François M. M. Morel". Princeton University: Office of the Dean of the Faculty. Archived from the original on 2018-09-16. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  2. The Legacy of François Morel: "What's New?" (PDF). Spring 2018. pp. 1–2.
  3. "Curriculum Vitae: François M.M. Morel". Geosciences @ Princeton. Archived from the original on 2022-01-09. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  4. "François M.M. Morel". Morel Trace Metals Group. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  5. "ENI AWARD 2010: Environment Protection Prize Winner: François Morel: Biography" (PDF). Eni. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  6. "Retirement Celebration June 10–11, 2018". Morel Trace Metals Group. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  7. "An Archive of Past Research". Morel Trace Metals Group. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  8. p, Mason; w. f., Fitzgerald; Morel, François M M.; Morel, François M M.; Morel, François M M.; Park, Haewon; b., Ward; Morel, François M M. (1994). "Mercury Cycling and Methylation". Environmental Science & Technology. 58 (15). Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  9. "The Role of Metals in Nitrogen Cycling in Soils". Morel Trace Metals Group. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  10. m, Price; Morel, François M M.; Morel, François M M.; m., Sherrell; c., Prince; Morel, François M M. (1990). "The Biological Role of Cadmium". Nature. 344 (6267). Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  11. Anderson, Michael A.; Morel, François M M.; Morel, François M M.; Morel, François M M. (1982). "Metal Uptake by Phytoplankton". Limnology and Oceanography. 27 (1). Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  12. "Ocean Acidification". Morel Trace Metals Group. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  13. OCEAN ACIDIFICATION: A NATIONAL STRATEGY TO MEET THE CHALLENGES OF A CHANGING OCEAN. Washington, DC: THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS. 2010. ISBN 978-0-309-15359-1.
  14. "James (Jim) J. Morgan, 1932–2020". California Institute of Technology. October 19, 2020. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  15. "Ocean Acidification: A National Strategy to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Ocean" (PDF). The National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  16. "Development of an Integrated Science Strategy for Ocean Acidification Monitoring, Research, and Impacts Assessment". National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  17. "History & Mission". High Meadows Environmental Institute. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  18. "Paul V. Roberts/AEESP Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award". Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  19. "AEESP Outstanding Publication Award". Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  20. "Geochemistry Fellows". Geochemical Society. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  21. "FRANÇOIS M. M. MOREL". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  22. "C.C. Patterson Award". Geochemical Society. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  23. "FRANCOIS M. M. MOREL: 2005 Maurice Ewing Medal Winner". American Geophysical Union. 2005. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  24. "Geophysicists Honored by AGU". Physics Today. 58 (7): 73. July 2005. doi:10.1063/1.2012470.
  25. "FRANCOIS M M MOREL". American Geophysical Union. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  26. "UNION FELLOWS". American Geophysical Union. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  27. "All Past Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients". Caltech. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  28. "Francois M.M. Morel". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  29. "H.C. Urey Award". European Association of Geochemistry. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  30. "Eni Award: our energy science award". Eni. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  31. "ACS Award for Creative Advances in Environmental Science and Technology Recipients". American Chemical Society. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  32. "François Morel". Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  33. "Dickson Prize". Carnegie Mellon University. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
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