Message from the POGO Secretariat Dr Sophie Seeyave Execu ve Director of POGO
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ater this month, it will have been exactly four years since the inaugural mee ng which led to the birth of NANO. Crea ng and developing NANO into what it is today has been a very rewarding part of my job, for many reasons. It has brought the same sa sfac on as growing an orchid: knowing how difficult they are to keep alive, it is all the more rewarding to see the beau ful flowers blossom me and me again, and even to witness the birth of a keiki -the Hawaiian word for baby- growing halfway up the stem! Like an orchid, NANO also needs careful a en on, watering and feeding on a regular basis, but I have had a wonderful support team to help with this “maintenance”: NANO Organisers and alumni Lica Krug and Olga Shatova, who are responsible for upda ng the alumni database and website and producing the newsle er, as well as coming up with new and original ideas for developing the network and engaging the members; POGO Scien fic Coordinator Vikki Cheung, who plays a major role in the coordina on of NANO projects and mee ngs as well as in the financial administra on, with valuable support from POGO Administra ve Assistant Laura Ruffoni. This month also marks the end of an era for the POGO Secretariat, with Shubha Sathyendranath stepping down from the Secretariat a er 15 years of dedicaon and hard work, having been the first Execu ve Director of POGO (1999-2008). At the same me, Trevor also stepped down as Execu ve Director and handed over to me on 1st October 2014. He will stay on, as Shubha did, in an advisory role, for a transi on period. Many of you will have been taught by Trevor and Shubha, who are both experts in the field of ocean colour remote sensing and ocean op cs, and dedicated to training the next generaon. There are even several “genera ons” of their trainees within NANO, in the sense that their earlier students now have students of their own, who have also benefited from NF-POGO training and joined NANO. Trevor has recently been awarded a Jawaharlal Nehru Science Fellowship –named a er India’s first prime minister –to spend 12 months, spread over 3 years, conduc ng research in India. During that me, Trevor and Shubha will con nue to train and mentor young scien sts in India. Needless to say Trevor and Shubha are very passionate about NANO and I’m sure they will con nue to follow and support our progress. On behalf of POGO and NANO, I wish them all the very best as they con nue their journey, and thank them for everything they have done to lay the solid founda ons on which NANO can con nue to grow and have many more keiki -in the form of research and outreach projects, newsle ers, calendars, watches and who knows what else…
NANO Watch It’s always me to celebrate! On the occasion of the 3rd anniversary of NANO, we have designed a watch with the kind contribu on and lovely drawings from NANO Friend Dr Heather Bouman, lecturer in Marine Biogeochemistry, University of Oxford. The watches produced will be used for outreach and educa onal purposes.
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Contact us: Suriyan.S@chula.ac.th, info@nf-pogo-alumni.org, lilian.krug@nf-pogo-alumni.org NANO website: www.nf-pogo-alumni.org
