University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Center for Marine Science (CMS) will start the new year with a new person at the helm.

University officials announced Tuesday that the school has named Martin Posey director of the research center, which provides “state-of-the-art marine research facilities that support a multidisciplinary application to questions in basic marine research and education,” according to a news release.

On Jan. 1, Posey steps into the position vacated in October by Daniel Baden, when Baden took on the new role of executive principal, Marine Biotechnology in North Carolina. Baden's duties now include marketing the research park’s MARBIONC facility and helping building tenants translate the results of their research into commercial applications.

Posey, who is currently UNCW’s associate vice chancellor and dean of undergraduate studies, has held a variety of leadership roles since coming to the university in 1989. He has served as coordinator for estuarine and coastal systems, chair of the Department of Biology and Marine Biology, coordinator for university accreditation efforts and liaison with Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, overseeing UNCW’s reaffirmation for reaccreditation, the release stated.

The mission of the center, located at UNCW’s CREST Research Park off Masonboro Loop Road in Wilmington, is to promote basic and applied research in the fields of oceanography, coastal and wetland studies, marine biomedical and environmental physiology, and marine biotechnology and aquaculture, the release stated, adding, “Posey and the leadership team at CMS will work together to ensure that the center’s research and outreach initiatives align with Chancellor Jose V. Sartarelli’s strategic plan, which is scheduled for completion in early 2016.”

In his new role, Posey will report to Aswani Volety, dean of UNCW’s College of Arts and Sciences. The university plans to conduct an internal search to fill Posey’s current position, and he will continue to work with the Office of Academic Affairs during the transition, according to the release.

An expert on coastal ecology and restoration, Posey has served as the principal investigator or co-principal investigator on more than $10 million in grants and contracts since coming to UNCW, officials said. His accolades include receiving the UNCW Faculty Scholarship Award, UNCW Graduate Mentor Award and recognition as a member of the university’s $10 Million Dollar Club for research funding.
 
He holds a bachelor’s degree in zoology from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Oregon.
 
“Dr. Posey’s in-depth experience as an administrator, researcher and faculty leader makes him an ideal choice for this important role,” UNCW’s interim provost Marilyn Sheerer said in the release. “As CMS director, Dr. Posey will coordinate marine science research at UNCW, strengthen the university’s connections among local, state and federal research and funding partners, and develop national and international collaborations with other marine science institutions.”