UC•AO associate professors & researcher

The Uehiro Center for the Advancement of Oceanography (UC•AO) Associate Professors and Researcher bring with them a wealth of experience and knowledge. They will complement and expand the expertise of the Department of Oceanography and integrate cutting-edge research with undergraduate and graduate education. They will lead research programs that contribute to our department’s strategic goals. As leaders within the UC•AO, these professors and researcher will catalyze innovative, interdisciplinary research that addresses consequential scientific questions complementary to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. They will develop and sustain vigorous, extramurally-supported, collaborative research programs that complement existing expertise in the Department of Oceanography and the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology; conduct outstanding classroom teaching and mentoring of students in both the graduate Oceanography and undergraduate Global Environmental Science programs; and provide service to our department, school, university, and the larger scientific community.  

Dr. Hyodae Seo is an Associate Professor in the Department of Oceanography and an Associate Director of the Uehiro Center for the Advancement of Oceanography. He is a physical oceanographer and climate scientist with a broad range of research and teaching interests in ocean and atmospheric processes and their coupled interactions relating to weather and climate. He combines high-resolution coupled modeling with theories of geophysical fluid dynamics and analyses of in situ and satellite observations to better understand the ocean-atmosphere coupled boundary layer processes, improve their representation in numerical models, and evaluate their influence on ocean, weather, and climate. Dr. Seo actively contributes to developing sustaining and sustainable ocean observing strategies and strives to engage the public around the issues related to ocean, extreme weather, climate, and ocean-based renewable energy research.

Dr. Seo earned a B.S. in Atmospheric Sciences from Yonsei University, Seoul, in 2002 and a Ph.D. in Oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego in 2007. He received the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award in 2015 and the NOAA Climate and Global Change Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2008-2009.

Dr. Nyssa Silbiger is an Associate Professor in the Department of Oceanography and an Associate Director of the Uehiro Center for the Advancement of Oceanography. She is a quantitative marine ecologist, with a major focus in coastal ecology and oceanography, applied biogeochemistry, and global change ecology. An avid SCUBA diver, Dr. Silbiger studies and explores coral reefs and other coastal ecosystems all over the world. In addition to her research, Dr. Silbiger is also passionate about promoting literacy in data science and working to create a safe and inclusive environment for all scientists.

Dr. Silbiger earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences with a minor in Chemistry from Florida State University, an M.S. in Marine Sciences from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Ph.D. in Zoology at the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology at UH Mānoa. She has received many awards including the International Coral Reef Society Early Career Award, the National Science Foundation CAREER award, and the California State University, Northridge Outstanding Faculty Award. 

Dr. Sachiko Yoshida is an Associate Researcher in the Department of Oceanography and the Coordinator of the Uehiro Center for the Advancement of Oceanography. She is a physical oceanographer and her research foci include ocean dynamics and large-scale circulation systems, as well as understanding changes in water mass characteristics in abyssal ocean. She is a sea-going oceanographer who collects and analyzes real-time oceanographic data. She has extensive experience analyzing trajectory data to investigate how tracers are transported in the North Pacific Basin. She has been particularly focused on understanding the physical processes responsible for tracer distribution at surface- and mid-depths. 

Dr. Yoshida earned a B.S. in Meteorology from Kyushu University in Japan in 2002 and a Ph.D. in Oceanography from Kyushu University in 2007.