Dr. Collin Ward, PhD 2015, Michigan EARTH

The James J. Morgan Early Career Award is given each year by Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T), Environmental Science & Technology Letters (ES&T Letters), and the Environmental Chemistry Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS). Named in honor of the first Editor-in-Chief of ES&T, the Award recognizes imaginative early career colleagues who are making waves in environmental science and technology. 


One of the four winners this year is Michigan EARTH alumnus Dr. Collin Ward. Dr. Ward is currently an Associate Scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). He completed his doctorate in 2015 with Michigan EARTH and stayed on as a postdoc until 2016. He finished his postdoctoral research at WHOI in 2018.


Dr. Ward’s research has focused on aquatic photochemistry, marine pollution, and biogeochemistry. He is considered an expert leader in oil spills, plastic pollution, and developing sustainable materials. He has published research on the rates, products, and impacts of sunlight and photochemical degradation of spilled petroleum hydrocarbons and demonstrated that sunlight plays a more significant role in the degradation of spilled oil than previously thought, which has led to a swift and accepted paradigm shift.


You can read more about Dr. Ward and the other recipients by clicking the button below.