The King’s first birthday list recognises extraordinary individuals working in marine science.

We are delighted to report recent awards for both our MBA Trustees and Fellow for their deserved recognition for their dedication to marine science.

MBA Trustee, Professor Mark Bailey OBE for services to microbial ecology and environmental leadership.

After graduating with a degree in microbiology and a PhD in insect virology, Mark spent four years as a postdoctoral fellow studying bacterial pathogenicity before moving to the NERC Institute of Virology and Environmental Microbiology, later CEH’s Oxford site.

Professor Bailey became the Oxford site’s director in 2002 and Science Director of CEH’s Biodiversity Programme from 2003 to 2012, when he was appointed Director of CEH and in 2019 Executive Director of UKCEH.

Professor Bailey’s key research interests include biogeochemical cycling, functional diversity and microbial metagenomics in the study of soil-plant-microbe interactions, and the wider application of molecular ecology in the environmental sciences.  Broader interests include the general ecology of systems and multi-scale trophic interactions, and the role and relevance of biodiversity in sustaining our planet.

MBA Trustee, Professor Stuart Rogers OBE for services to marine fisheries and environmental science.

Since his recent retirement from the Cefas Laboratory in Lowestoft (established by the Marine Biological Association in 1902!) Professor Rogers was responsible for the strategic direction of Cefas science and accountable for the quality of evidence and advice that Cefas provided.

As an Executive Director on the Management Board he was also actively involved in long-term planning to ensure that our UK and international government partners have the most appropriate marine evidence to support decision making. Increasingly this requires partnership working across the government network and with other Institutes to make the best use of limited resources and to generate innovative solutions.

Professor Rogers has a background as a marine environmental scientist and advisor, having completed undergraduate and doctoral studies as a fisheries ecologist at the University of Bristol and Plymouth University. He is familiar with environmental and fisheries management in the UK and Europe, and has chaired and contributed to a broad range of technical and science advisory Groups. In particular he was closely involved in the drafting and implementation of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Although until recently an actively publishing scientist, he has become increasingly interested in how to encourage early career scientists to reach their full potential. This is a real challenge at a time when development of world class skills through consistent funding in a single field is increasingly difficult

MBA Fellow Dr Shubha Sathyendranath MBE for services to oceanography.

Dr Shubha Sathyendranath is a scientist in the Remote Sensing Group at Plymouth Marine Laboratory.

Dr Sathyendranath’s research interests include ocean colour modelling, spectral characteristics of light penetration underwater, bio-optical properties of phytoplankton, modelling primary production, bio-geochemical cycles in the sea, climate change, biological-physical interactions in the marine system, ecological provinces in the sea, ecological indicators and phytoplantkon functional types.