Sam Purkis

Adviser Dr. Sam Purkis is an Assistant Professor at Nova Southeastern University

He received his B.Sc. (Hons.) degree in oceanography and marine biology from Southampton University, Southampton, U.K., the M.Sc. degree in geology, and the Ph.D. degree from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in 1998, 2001, and 2004, respectively.

Dr. Purkis is renowned for work on the reef-scale monitoring of coral habitats using remote sensing technologies. His expertise stretches from air- and space-borne optical instruments to vessel-mounted acoustic tools and bathymetric LiDAR. His work concentrates on using technology to resolve seabed architecture of modern and ancient carbonate landscapes, with attention to the detection of change through time. This research is relevant to modeling the degradation of marine ecosystems and the development of management plans to promote sustainability. His work stretches from field monitoring to software development and mathematical simulation. Dr. Purkis has conducted work in the U.S.A., Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, U.A.E., Indonesia, Honduras, Malaysia, Madagascar, the Mariana Islands, Chagos, and throughout the Caribbean. Of particular focus has been the status and monitoring of seabed habitat in the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf with multiple active projects in recent years. Sam has held research grants from the Dutch Science Foundation, the EU, the Ocean Drilling Program, US Geological Survey, NOAA, St. Johns River Water Management District, Broward County, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the Khaled Bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation.

Dr. Purkis has authored more than twenty scientific publications and supervised fifteen M.Sc. and Ph.D. candidates. He lectures at the graduate level at both EU and US universities, and is involved in local capacity building initiatives to develop expertise in the environmental agencies of Abu Dhabi and Qatar. Well versed in state-of-the-art technological solutions for seabed mapping, his expertise is relevant to a broad spectrum of marine applications.

Find out more about Sam's publications and research at his homepage.

Click here to contact Sam.