Plymouth Marine Science and Education Foundation (PlyMSEF)

PlyMSEF is a charitable organisation aiming to promote and support marine science and education across the city

Plymouth Sound and Hoe with graduation marquees

Established in 1986, PlyMSEF is a charitable organisation aiming to promote and support marine science and education across the city and provides a formal connection between five renowned marine-themed institutions within Plymouth:

A focus of the Foundation is the annual provision of funds to enable selected students and early career scientists from these institutions to attend national and international scientific conferences, symposia, workshops or advanced training courses in the marine sciences.

PlyMSEF also promotes marine science through public lectures and seminars in Plymouth and an annual Plymouth research student conference. The conference gives an opportunity for PhD students from across the city to meet and present their work to their peers and academics.

Partners

Hosted on the University of Plymouth website, on behalf of all PlyMSEF partners.

Grant-In-Aid (GIA)

PlyMSEF provides travel grants to enable research students to attend academic conferences and symposia or to attend advanced training courses or workshops in marine disciplines. Applicants must be registered PhD students or postgraduate scientists within four years of graduation employed in marine-related research projects and have a strong affiliation with one of the partner institutions.

Details about the annual call for applications are typically advertised during October/November, with a deadline in January. Successful applicants are then announced by the end of February. Awards are in the range of £300–£500.

Lectures

PlyMSEF promotes marine science through the Spring Lecture and the Plymouth Marine Science Medal Lecture. These lectures are held annually and are typically hosted by one of the partners.

Annual Postgraduate Student Conference

The PlyMSEF Annual Conference showcases work undertaken by postgraduate and early career researchers associated with Plymouth-based institutes, with a focus on the marine environment.

The conference is typically held in the first half of every calendar year.

The 2025 round of PlyMSEF Grant-in-aid (GIA) applications is now open

Detailed guidance notes are provided on the application form:

Download the application form

Applications should be submitted to Geri Laing at gebr@pml.ac.uk by the closing date of Friday 10 January 2025.

2024 PlyMSEF Annual Postgraduate Conference

The 2024 PlyMSEF Annual Postgraduate Conference took place on 23 April 2024 in Plymouth and was organised jointly with the 20th MBA Postgraduate Conference on 24–25 April 2024.

The PlyMSEF oral presentations were hosted by PML and the poster session was held at the MBA. Both sessions were judged, with prizes awarded at the end of the day.

Prize winners – presentations:

First prize: Ellie Murphy, Marine Biological Association, A Density Mystery: The Interplay of Cell Density and Stress Signalling Responses in Marine Diatoms

Runner up: Guy Hooper, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Investigating the potential impacts of Direct Ocean Capture on blue mussels

People’s choice: Shauna Corr, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Assessing Local Adaptation in Macroalgal Microbiomes

Ellie Murphy

PlyMSEF Annual Postgraduate Conference attendees

Prize winners – posters:

First place: Irene Susini, University of Plymouth, The many faces of functional traits: the case of benthic ecosystems

Second place: Catherine Philip, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Climate linked microbial interactions in green tide causing seaweed

First place overall (across PlyMSEF and MBA Postgraduate conferences): Irene Susini, University of Plymouth (further details as above)

Recent history

Chairs of the Foundation

Plymouth Marine Science Education Fund

2003 Mark Blacksell - UoP
2004 Steve Hawkins - MBA
2005 Chris Reid - SAHFOS
2006 Kelvin Boot - NMA
2007 Roddy Williamson - UoP
2008 Peter Burkill - SAHFOS
2009 Colin Brownlee - MBA
2010 Stephen de Mora - PML
2011 Martin Attrill - UoP

Plymouth Marine Science and Education Foundation

2012 Gary Smerdon - DDRC
2013 Paul Cox - NMA
2014 Nicholas Owens - SAHFOS
2015 Colin Brownlee - MBA
2016 Stephen de Mora - PML
2017 Gary Smerdon - DDRC
2018 Roger Maslin - NMA
2019 Richard Thompson - UoP
2020 Willie Wilson - MBA (interim, no activity)
2021–2022 Willie Wilson - MBA
2023–2024 Icarus Allen - PML

Spring lectures

2009 Dr Craig Venter - President, J Craig Venter Institute, USA: "Genomics: from reading to writing the code"

2010 Prof Camille Parmesan - University of Texas, USA: "Impacts of recent climate change"

2011 Prof Tim Lenton - University of Exeter: "Revolutions that made the Earth"

2012 Michael Rutzen - Shark Diving Unlimited, Gansbaai, South Africa: "The Great White shark Carcharodon carcharias: behaviour and conservation"

2013 no lecture

2014 Profs Gerd Masselink and Paul Russell - Coastal Processes Research Group, University of Plymouth: "Where has our beach gone? The science behind how wave and storms impact our coast"

2015 Professor Richard Thompson - University of Plymouth: "Marine Debris – Are there solutions to this global environmental problem"

2016 Dr Carol Turley - PML: "Oceans of stress: hot, sour, breathless and rising"

2017 Professor David Sims - MBA: "Tracking the lives of oceanic sharks in a changing world"

2018 Kelvin Boot - Freelance science communicator: "Science bites and snake bites"

2019 Dr Melanie Austen - PML: "It’s not all about the fish"

2020 no lecture

2021 no lecture

2022 Darwin Tree of Life - MBA & Smart Sound Team - PML & Dr Thomas Stamp - University of Plymouth & Mark Parry - Ocean Conservation Trust: "Science in the Sound"

2023 - two lectures:

Professor Tim Smyth - PML: "Impacts of artificial light pollution (ALAN) on marine biodiversity"
Dr Martyn Hann - University of Plymouth: "The physical modelling that supports the development of off-shore Renewable Energy in the Celtic Sea"

2024 - three lectures on the theme of Marine Heatwaves:

Dr Juliane Wihsgott - Plymouth Marine Laboratory: "Exploring impacts on ocean health and weather feedback on the North West European shelf"
Dr Manuela Truebano - University of Plymouth: "Coping with heat – lessons from Plymouth's shorelines"
Dr Dan Smale - Marine Biological Association: "Impacts of marine heatwaves on coastal ecosystems in a rapidly warming world"

Marine Science Medal lectures

1986 Dr John H Steele FRS: "The Role of the Oceans in Global Change"

1987 Professor James E Lovelock FRS: "The Oceans of Gaia - Geophysiology in a Marine Environment"

1988 Sir John Mason CB, DSc, FRS: "The Role of the Ocean in Global Climate"

1989 no lecture

1990 Professor Geoffrey Eglinton FRS: "Wither Marine Organic Chemistry?"

1991 Professor Sir Eric Denton CBE, FRS: "Silvery Fish - Appearing and Disappearing"

1992 Professor Peter S. Liss BSc, PhD: "How does the Atmosphere Affect the Biogeochemistry of the Oceans and Vice Versa?"

1993 Dr John Woods: "Simulating the Upper Ocean Ecosystem by the Langrangian Ensemble Method"

1994 Professor Ian A Johnston: "Adaptation to Temperature Change in Marine Fish"

1995 Dr Robert R Dickson FRSE: "The Physical and Biological Response to Decadal Change in the West Atlantic"

1996 Professor Farooq Azam: "How Important are Bacteria in Controlling the Ocean’s Biogeochemical Dynamics?"

1997 Professor John M Huthnance: "Ocean Shelf Exchange, Controls and Consequences"

1998 Professor Harry Elderfield: "Chemistry of the Glacial Ocean – a status report"

1999 Professor Trevor Platt FRS: "Control of Primary Productivity in High Nitrate Regions"

2000 Professor Andy Clark: "Life in the Freezer: Ecology and Adaptation to Low Temperature"

2001 Professor Michael Whitfield: "Mobile Pastures: Microbial Ghosts in the Ocean Machine"

2002 Dr Brian Bayne: "Bivalve Mariculture: Science on the Half Shell"

2003 Dr Tony Rice: "A Crank Little Vessel"

2004 Dr Tim Hunt: "From Sea Urchin to Clam Eggs to the Control of the Cell Cycle"

2005 Professor Peter Herring: "Light in the Depths: the how and why of luminous deep sea animals"

2006 Professor Patrick Holligan: "Determination and Prediction of Ecological Variability in Shelf Seas"

2007 Professor Graham Shimmield: "Has petroleum exploitation and exploration damaged the North Sea?"

2008 Professor John Croxall: "Southern Ocean albatrosses: South Georgia science to global conservation"

2009 Professor Andy Watson: "The ocean sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide: constant or fickle?"

2010 Professor Geoff Boxshall FRS - Natural History Museum, London: "The magnitude of marine biodiversity: towards a quarter of a million species but not enough copepods!!"

2011 Professor John G Field - Marine Research Institute, University of Cape Town: "Looking back in order to project into the future: new developments in marine science"

2012 Professor Jan Pentreath - Trustee of the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science & Plymouth Marine Laboratory Fellow: "Unstable atoms in the oceans: clocks, tracers and DNA"

2013 Professor Hans-Otto Pörtner - Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven, Germany: "Oceans under climate change: towards an integrated view of organism sensitivities and ecosystem consequences"

2014 Professor Ian Boyd - Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: "Creating a storm or calming the waters – a view from a Chief Scientific Adviser"

2015 Professor Lloyd Peck - British Antarctic Survey: "How well adapted are Antarctic marine species to extreme polar conditions?"

2016 Professor Gideon Henderson - Oxford University: "Metals in seawater: critical; toxic; and changing"

2017 Professor Douglas Wallace - Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada: “Vital Signs: Monitoring the Ocean’s Deep, Breathing in the Labrador Sea.”

2018 Professor Corinne Le Quéré - University of East Anglia: “The Ocean Carbon Cycle in a Changing Climate”

2019 Professor Nicole Dubilier - Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany: "The art of harnessing dark energy: Symbiosis between chemosynthetic bacteria and marine invertebrates"

2020 no lecture

2021 (34^th) Professor Edward Boyle - Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA: "Tracing anthropogenic lead through the ocean using lead isotopes"

2022 (35^th) Professor Heather Koldewey - Zoological Society of London (ZSL): "Science for solutions to save the sea"

2023 (36^th) Professor Carol Robinson - University of East Anglia: "Marine microbial respiration – a known unknown"

2024 (37^th) Professor David Scanlan - University of Warwick: "Marine picocyanobacteria and the global C cycle – the beauty in small things revealed!"