Walter Adey
As a scientist and curator at the Smithsonian Institution, Dr. Walter Adey concentrates his research on algal ecology.
Adey's studies include the highly linked photosynthetic and calcification capabilities of coral reefs and their geological development; the ocean-wide distribution of seaweeds as structured by the fluctuating climates of the Pleistocene; and adaptation of algal processes to the critical human need for environmental management. His specialty has been the biology and physiology of coralline algae and their role in calcifying and creating habitat.
Among the first to demonstrate the Holocene geological development of Caribbean coral reefs and the linkage of that process to free-living algal photosynthesis, Adey then used algal ecosystems as environmental control systems to pioneer the development of experimental ecosystems, microcosms, and mesocosms through the 1980s and 1990s.
A leader in design and testing of graphical/mathematical models to understand the biogeographic distribution of marine algae, Dr. Adey also has developed capabilities to go to sea over extensive lengths of coastline to collect the data required for his studies. In this work, he also has acquired extensive hands-on maritime and SCUBA experience.
In the early 1980s, Walter Adey invented Algal Turf Scrubbing (ATS), a solar-algal process for removing nutrients, heavy meals, and toxic organics from water, and CO2 from the atmosphere. A large-scale capturer of solar energy, ATS produces an algal biomass that can be used as animal feed, fertilizer source, cellulosic and protein product, and energy source.
| 1951 — 1955 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering and Science. B.S. Geophysics, 1955 |
| 1956 — 1959 | MIT/Harvard University; Graduate Studies, Paleontology, Biology |
| 1960 — 1963 | University of Michigan; Marine Botany and Geology. PhD. 1963 |
| 1964 — present | Curator, Research Scientist, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution |
| 1972 — 1978 | Adjunct Professor, West Indies Laboratory, St. Croix |
| 1975 — 1999 | Director, Marine Systems Laboratory, Smithsonian Institution |
| 1977 — 2000 | Adjunct Professor on Graduate Committees, U. of Maryland, Georgetown U., U. of Maine, George Washington U. Johns Hopkins U. Mentored many graduate and postdoctoral students. |
| 1985 — present | President, Ecological Systems Technology, Inc. R & D support |
| 1964 — 2007 | Over 120 research and educational publications in the fields of: algal biosystematics, ecology and physiology; biogeography, coral reef geology and ecology, Pleistocene Geology, and ecological engineering and water quality control. For complete list, see SI-NMNH Botany Dept Web site. |
