Dr. Kiefer has been a Professor of Biology at the University of Southern California for more than 25 years. He has also been active in many aspects of basic marine ecology research, technology development and conservation biology. He is a member of the Heinz Foundation’s State of the Ecosystem Panel for coastal waters. Kiefer has published 75 papers and 16 published reports, and he has obtained 3 United States patents for inventions in optical instrumentation and wave damping floats. He is also Chief Scientist and co-founder of System Science Applications, a marine environmental consulting and software development company. He has played a major role in developing EASy (Environmental Analysis System), the first geographical information system that was specifically designed for marine applications. Recently he has applied his software to questions regarding mariculture operations and ecological impact – issues that are most import to many coastal third world economies. Professor Kiefer will guide the Foundation’s efforts in basic research as well as the goals of improving local sustainability of communities.