Judith Weis

Judith Shulman Weis (born May 29, 1941)[1] is an American marine biologist. Her research focuses on the responses of estuarine organisms to stresses, particularly heavy metal contaminants, invasive species and parasites. She is professor emerita of marine biology at Rutgers University, where she taught for five decades.[2]

Early life and education

Weis was born and raised in New York City in a secular Jewish family.[1] She attended the Bronx High School of Science and earned her B.A. in 1962 from Cornell University, majoring in zoology. She received her M.S. in 1964 and Ph.D. in biology in 1967, both from New York University.[3]

Career

Weis had a summer internship in 1960, while in Cornell, at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. After receiving her Ph.D., Weis joined the faculty of Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, in 1967. In addition to teaching, she conducted research on the threats faced by organisms in shallow coastal estuary environments, such as contamination from pollution, especially heavy metals, and invasive species.[3] During a sabbatical in 1983–1984, she received a Congressional Science Fellowship from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) where she worked for the Environment and Public Works Committee of the US Senate. She later served on advisory committees for the US EPA, NOAA, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, where she still chairs the scientific advisory board. She also serves on the Waterfront Management Advisory Board of New York City and the National Marine Team of the Sierra Club. She has published over 200 scientific papers and written several books about marine biology. She is married to Peddrick "Pete" Weis, also an academic, and the couple have two children and three grandchildren.[3]

Weis has also volunteered with the National Organization for Women and served on the board of the Association for Women in Science, among other activist organizations.[1]

Bibliography
  • Salt Marshes: A Natural and Unnatural History (2009; with Carol A. Butler)
  • Do Fish Sleep? (2011)
  • Walking Sideways: The Remarkable World of Crabs (2012)
  • Physiological, Developmental, and Behavioral Effects of Marine Pollution (2013)
  • Marine Pollution: What Everyone Needs to Know (2014)
  • Biological Invasions and Animal Behaviour (2016; co-edited with Daniel Sol)

Awards
  • Fellow of AAAS (elected 1985)
  • Governor's Science Advisory Committee, N.J., President's Council of Cornell Women, Marine Board of the National Research Council, 1991
  • Environmental Award from Accabonac Protection Committee, 1996
  • Rutgers Class of 1962 Presidential Public Service Award, 2003–2004
  • Fulbright Senior Specialist – Indonesia (Hasanuddin University, Makassar, South Sulawesi) May 2006
  • Merit Award from the Society of Wetland Scientists 2016

References
  1. Dr. Judith S. Weis, Interview by Veteran Feminists of America, July 2018
  2. "Women of Science", Rutgers University, accessed May 19, 2019
  3. Swiatkowski, Paula. "Working for a Sea Change", Sierra Club, May 6, 2019
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