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Reuben Lasker

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This article is about the fisheries scientist. For the ship named after him, see NOAAS Reuben Lasker (R 228).
Reuben Lasker
Born(1929-12-01)December 1, 1929
DiedMarch 12, 1988(1988-03-12) (aged 58)
Alma materUniversity of Miami
Stanford University
SpouseCaroline Hayman
Awards1970: Meritorious Service Award, U.S. Dept. of the Interior (Silver Medal Award)
1974: Distinguished Service Award, U.S. Dept. of Commerce (Gold Medal Award)
1983: Huntsman Medal for Excellence in Biological Oceanography, Bedford Institute of Oceanography
1988 (posthumous): Outstanding Achievement Award, American Institute of Fishery Research Biologists
Scientific career
FieldsMarine biology
Oceanography
Physiology
InstitutionsBureau of Commercial Fisheries
Southwest Fisheries Center
Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Reuben Lasker (December 1, 1929 – March 12, 1988) was a fisheries scientist known for his contributions to larval ecology, particularly the Stable Ocean Hypothesis.

Early life and education

Lasker was born to Theodore and Mary Lasker in Brooklyn, New York, on December 1, 1929. He attended the Boys' High School in Brooklyn, graduating at the age of 16. Lasker began his academic career at the University of Miami in 1946. Initially, he majored in English, but transitioned to zoology with notions of medical school. However, he graduated in 1950, and applied for (and won) a scholarship for graduate studies in marine biology. He studied marine shipworms and earned his master's degree at the University of Miami in 1952. For his doctoral degree at Stanford Lasker studied silverfish gastrology, earning the degree in 1956.[1]: 376–377 

Lasker was married to Caroline Hayman with whom he had a daughter, Pamela, and son, Paul.[1]: 376, 378, 380 

Professional career

In 1956, Lasker was awarded a post-doctoral appointment from the Rockefeller Foundation to culture euphausiid shrimps at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California.[1]: 377  After teaching briefly at Compton Community College and being granted a Lalor Faculty Fellowship at Scripps, Lasker was recruited to the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Commercial Fisheries' new research laboratory on the Scripps campus; he began federal service as a fishery research biologist in June 1958.[1]: 378  Lasker was charged with establishing what would become the Physiology Laboratory.[1]: 378–379 

Lasker and his teams went on to study various marine invertebrates, which eventually led him to his most widely recognized work with larval fish ecology. Most of his research centered around clupeid larval survival, feeding, and relevant environmental and planktonic variables within the California Current System (CCS).

In 1970, Lasker revitalized the academic journal Fishery Bulletin as its scientific editor. Under his leadership, the journal became a quarterly publication and its content tripled.[1]: 381 

Lasker had been an associate professor of Marine Biology in Residence at Scripps since 1966 when he was appointed adjunct professor in 1973.[1]: 382 

Awards

Lasker was awarded the Meritorious Service Award (Silver Medal Award) by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1970, the Distinguished Service Award (Gold Medal Award) by the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1974, and the A.G. Huntsman Award for Excellence in the Marine Sciences by the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in 1983. In 1988, the American Institute of Fishery Research Biologists posthumously awarded Lasker its Outstanding Achievement Award.[1]: 382–383 

Death and legacy

Lasker died of kidney cancer on March 12, 1988, at the age of 58. His ashes were scattered from the research vessel NOAA'S David Starr Jordan on April 27, 1988, in the ocean off Point Loma. Lasker's friends established the Reuben Lasker Memorial Fund after his death.[1]: 382 

NOAA's Reuben Lasker

Main article: NOAAS Reuben Lasker (R 228)

The NOAA ship Reuben Lasker, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries research vessel, is named after Lasker.[2]

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Vlymen, Lillian L. (1989). "Reuben Lasker: A Remembrance" (PDF). Fishery Bulletin. 87 (3): 376–383. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  2. ^ "Keel-laying ceremony held in Marinette, Wis. for NOAA Survey Vessel Reuben Lasker". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. June 21, 2011. Retrieved June 23, 2011.

Further reading

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