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Douglas McCauley          

Professor at UC Santa Barbara, Adjunct Professor at UC Berkeley & Director Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory

Douglas McCauley is a Professor at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) and an Adjunct Professor at the University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley). He directs the Director of the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory, an applied research center based at UCSB’s Marine Science Institute that creates replicable, science-based solutions to improve ocean health.

A Sloan Research Fellow in the Ocean Sciences and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Friends of Ocean Action, Dr. McCauley was named a “Human of the Year” by Vice Media and a “Climate Visionary” by the Washington Post. He has spent thousands of hours underwater studying the seas. He is a sought-after speaker whose past engagements include addresses at venues such as Davos, the United Nations, Salesforce, Google, National Geographic, the Economist World Ocean Summit, Harvard University, and Stanford University. His research has been published in leading journals such as Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, as well as having been featured in outlets such as the New York Times, BBC, TIME, and US National Public Radio.

Dr. McCauley's research expeditions have taken him to some of the most remote parts of our ocean. His stories of science are interwoven with close encounters with curious sharks, nights spent uncovering the secret lives of manta rays, and unforgettable underwater moments with endangered whales.

Dr. McCauley’s first job on the ocean was working as a fisherman, before tuning his talents to save the seas. He has degrees in political science and biology from UC Berkeley and a PhD in Biology from Stanford University. He conducted postdoctoral research at Stanford, Princeton University, and UC Berkeley.

Speech Topics

The future of our Ocean

McCauley starts by taking us back in history to learn how our relationship with the sea has shaped both us and our planet. The ocean has given us food, breath, health, jobs, and inspiration. But we’ve not returned these favors. And now something else is changing in the ocean. An explosion of new human industry from ocean farming to the construction of ocean cities could make life off our coasts almost unrecognizable in the next century. Climate change is altering almost every facet imaginable about life in the seas. But there is yet much hope. New kinds of ocean technology and strong ocean leadership can together create a brighter future for our Ocean. McCauley intermixes facts about ocean life, with examples of ocean tech solutions he and his team have built - from shark-sensing drones to innovation designed to solve the plastic pollution crisis. Blended into with the science are inspiring stories of encounters with sharks, whales, sea turtles, rickety fishing boats, and ocean heroes – young and old – from his research expeditions. A story of ocean optimism that in many ways is our own story.

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