Geoffrey I. Scott, Ph.D., clinical professor and chair of the University of South Carolina’s Environmental Health Sciences department within the Arnold School of Public Health, was elected chair, and Darin Zimmerman, Ph.D., physics professor and dean and Traubert chair of The Citadel’s Swain School of Math and Science, was elected vice-chair of the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium Board of Directors. Both Scott and Zimmerman were elected by unanimous votes on December 9, 2025, and their one-year terms began on January 1, 2026.
“I am extremely honored to serve as chair on the Board of the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium, whose research and interactions with NOAA and other federal agencies, South Carolina state agencies, member academic institutions, and nongovernmental organizations provide the needed environmental focus, public education, and sound science to effectively conserve, protect, and utilize our natural coastal resources and coastal communities,” said Scott. “I have been fortunate to work with the Consortium for the past 39 years, and I enthusiastically look forward to working with Dr. Osborne and her staff, our Board Vice-Chair, Dr. Darin Zimmerman, and other members of the board, continuing this most vital and important work for our South Carolina coast. I want to thank Robert Boyles for his outstanding leadership as chairman of the S.C. Sea Grant Board these past two years. The Board and I will do our best to continue the level of excellence and leadership established by Robert in helping guide the Consortium into the future.”
Scott earned a B.S. in biology from Wofford College and a M.S. and Ph.D. in marine science, both from the University of South Carolina. He was an aquatic toxicologist for the U.S. EPA, toxicology program director at the Research Planning Institute, associate tenured professor at University of South Carolina’s (USC) Arnold School of Public Health, toxicology program leader, marine ecotoxicology branch chief and, ultimately, center director at NOAA’s Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research, overseeing labs in South Carolina and Maryland. Scott was the acting director of the NOAA/NOS Hollings Marine Laboratory. He is currently a clinical professor and chair of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences within the Arnold School of Public Health at USC and formerly a director of the NIEHS Center for Oceans and Human Health and Climate Change Interactions at USC.
Geoffrey I. Scott, Ph.D. Photo courtesy of University of South Carolina.