Brian Helmuth
Brian Helmuth, Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences and School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs
Phone Number: 781-581-7370
Email Address: b.helmuth@neu.edu
Lab Website: http://www.northeastern.edu/helmuthlab/
Dr. Brian Helmuth’s research explores the effects of climate and climate change on the physiology and ecology of marine organisms. Specifically, he uses thermal engineering techniques, including a combination of field work, remote sensing and mathematical modeling, to forecast the impacts of climate change on coastal marine animals such as mussels and seastars. He has also used similar techniques to examine the impacts of temperature and water flow on tropical corals. A major goal of this approach is to predict where, when, and with what magnitude the effects of climate change are most (and least) likely to occur. To date his work has centered primarily on tropical coral reefs in Florida, the Caribbean and Central America, and on temperate rocky intertidal systems in the United States, Europe and South America. Helmuth’s work has shown some surprising results, and has suggested that our expectations of where to look for the effects of climate change in nature can be more complex than previously anticipated. His work suggests that unless we know where and when to look for impacts of climate change, many early impacts could go unnoticed. Helmuth received his PhD in 1997 from the University of Washington in Seattle, and spent two years as a post-doctoral research associate at Stanford from 1997-1999. Dr. Helmuth is currently a Professor at Northeastern Univesity and the Director of Director the Sustainability Science and Policy Initiative.
