Björn Kjerfve

Björn Kjerfve
Chancellor, American University of Sharjah
Assumed office
2014
Personal details
Profession Academic
Website www.aus.edu/chancellors-profile

Björn Kjerfve[1] is a Swedish-American oceanographer[2] who, as Chancellor[3] since 2014, is leading the challenge of transforming American University of Sharjah[4] (AUS) located in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE), into a comprehensive research university. Also serving as Professor of Environmental Sciences, Dr. Kjerfve's expertise is in coastal and estuarine physical oceanography.

Proud of the fact that he was the first person in his family to attend college, Dr. Kjerfve has distinguished himself academically and his publications are collected by libraries worldwide[5]. He has published 12 books and more than 250 scientific journal papers, book chapters, and reports[6]. He has supervised 14 Ph.D. dissertations and 24 M.S. theses, served on more than 50 Ph.D. and M.S. student committees, and taught more than 6,000 oceanography students. His research focuses on estuarine and coastal waters, as well as climate change, which has attracted US$20 million in research funding for some 90 projects.

In 2013, the Brazilian Academy of Sciences elected Dr Kjerfve as a corresponding member.

Early life and education

Dr. Kjerfve was born and raised in Skövde, Sweden. He won a one-year Rotary Scholarship to study at Georgia Southern College, remaining there by paying his way on a tennis scholarship, and graduating with a bachelor of arts in mathematics. He continued his studies at the University of Washington in Seattle, earning a master of science degree in oceanography. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in Marine Sciences from Louisiana State University.

Career

Dr. Kjerfve served as President of the World Maritime University[7] in Malmo, Sweden for five years, before becoming the current Chancellor of American University of Sharjah (AUS), in 2014[8][9].

He had previously served as a tenured Professor of Oceanography and Dean of the College of Geosciences (2004-2009) at Texas A&M University. As Dean, he oversaw four academic departments, the Texas Sea Grant Program, and the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) which operates the D/V Joides Resolution, the 475-foot IODP ocean sciences drilling vessel.

Dr. Kjerfve was the Director of the Marine Science Program (2000-2004) at the University of South Carolina, where he had earlier served as a Professor of Marine and Geological Sciences[2], following the successful defense of his Ph.D.

Dr. Kjerfve served in several visiting professor/scientist positions: Universidade Federal Fluminense (Departamento de Geoquímica), Niterói, RJ, Brazil, 1988-2003; Göteborgs Universitet (Oceanografiska Institutionen), Sweden, in 1996; Universidade de São Paulo (Instituto Oceanográfico & Centro Tecnológico de Hidráulica), São Paulo, SP, Brazil, in 1984 and 1985; Universiti Sains Malaysia (School of Biological Sciences), Penang, Malaysia, in 1984, 1990, and 1992; Chulalongkorn University (Department of Marine Science), Bangkok, Thailand, in 1983; Stockholms Universitet (Institute of Marine Ecology), Askö and Stockholm, Sweden, the summers of 1981, 1982, and 1983; The University of Sydney, Coastal Studies Unit, Department of Geography, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 1979-1980.

Personal

Chancellor of American University of Sharjah
Dr. Björn Kjerfve Chancellor of American University of Sharjah

Dr. Kjerfve holds dual citizenship (USA and Sweden) and is a permanent resident of Brazil, with a current UAE residence/work visa. He has three daughters, and is fluent in English, Swedish, and Portuguese. His personal interests include tennis, literature, the arts, the environment, and geopolitics.

References

  1. ↑ Kjerfve, Björn (April 9, 2018). "Professor Björn Kjerfve, Ph.D." (PDF). American University of Sharjah. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 2018.
  2. 1 2 Julia, Sims. Manchac Swamp: Louisiana's Undiscovered Wilderness. Pelican Publishing. ISBN 9781455608300.
  3. ↑ "Chancellor's Profile". American University of Sharjah. 2016-11-27. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  4. ↑ "American University of Sharjah". American University of Sharjah. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  5. ↑ Kjerfve, Björn (April 9, 2018). "Kjerfve, Björn". WorldCat Online Computer Library Center. Archived from the original on January 2018.
  6. ↑ "Björn Kjerfve - Google Scholar Citations". scholar.google.ca. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  7. ↑ "Bjorn Kjerfve Appointed President Of WMU/IMO | Texas A&M Today". today.tamu.edu. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  8. ↑ Staff (2014-03-16). "AUS gets new chancellor". Emirates 24|7. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  9. ↑ "American University of Sharjah chief charts new course". The National. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
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