Who We Are

Welcome

The Cooperative Institute for Marine Ecosystem and Resources Studies (CIMERS) is one of 16 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Institutes located in the United States. We conduct cutting-edge marine transdisciplinary research that supports NOAA's mission, goals and strategic initiatives while training the next generation of marine scientists to advance basic knowledge about ocean ecosystems.

Our researchers and partners work from local to global scales on marine issues of emerging importance, such as the conservation of endangered species, maintaining sustainable commercial and recreational fishing stocks, and predicting and mitigating natural hazards. CIMERS convenes research partners from numerous disciplines and institutions - from nonprofits to industry to government - to address the most challenging and complex issues relating to the living and non-living components of our marine environment, using innovation to develop new tools and technologies.

CIMERS is co-located in Newport, Oregon, at the Hatfield Marine Science Center, along with three regional NOAA laboratories representing two NOAA Line Offices, the Oregon State University's College of Agricultural Sciences Marine Mammal Institute, the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Oregon Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. This co-location and proximity to the ocean facilitates partnerships in transdisciplinary marine research in both the California Current and throughout the world.

CIMERS was founded 42 years ago on the understanding that the NOAA-OSU research partnership is a powerful model for accelerating our understanding of the ocean, how it is changing, and how to best safeguard its future. Today, the need for that collaborative model is more urgent than ever. We need to quicken and broaden the innovative ideas and tools that we bring to ocean science. We need to engage all of society in finding solutions to our most pressing coastal and global challenges. I welcome you to be a part of the CIMERS community and join us in advancing this ocean research enterprise.

~ Francis Chan, CIMERS Director