Research/Advisory Service
The Outstanding Employee awards are chosen by nominations received by the Awards Committee from all faculty, staff, and students at VIMS. They are awarded in the categories of Facilities/Safety/Trades, Research and Advisory Service, Technical Support, and Administrative Support.
The recipient of the 2011 Outstanding Employee in Research and Advisory Service is Mr. Scott Marion.
Scott is one of those rare individuals who make such a contribution to a research program that they change its entire dynamics. He brings an amazing amount of energy and enthusiasm to each project in the Seagrass Restoration Program, never stopping at the easy answer, but rather investing untold personal hours, digging deeply into the literature, and testing many different approaches until he finds the right tools to achieve the program's goals.
Scott has an extremely analytic mind that is always ready to locate creative solutions for the most complex problems and to describe them in a way that is easily understood and yet concise for the many excellent papers that he has co-authored.
Scott’s passion for marine science is made evident by his willingness to put aside what he is doing and spend hours helping a student work out a solution to problem with their project. While he eagerly discusses new results with academic peers, he is just as quick to strike up a conversation with local residents about the importance of seagrass to a healthy Bay.
Scott’s contributions are truly exceptional and one of the reasons the VIMS Seagrass Restoration Program is as successful as it is today.
Congratulations, Scott!