Rate My Professor Clifford Law

Professor Clifford Law is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Otago. He holds a PhD from the University of Dundee, an MSc from Napier University, and a BSc (Hons) from Swansea University. As Principal Scientist in Marine Biogeochemistry at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in Wellington, he leads the Oceans-Climate Interactions programme and serves as Co-Director of the NIWA-University of Otago Centre for Oceanography. He is also Programme Leader for Oceanic Control of Atmospheric Composition and coordinates international and national research activities on ocean-atmosphere interactions.

Law's research specializations encompass marine biogeochemistry, with emphasis on marine trace gases, phytoplankton growth controls, ocean acidification, and climate change impacts on ocean physics, biogeochemistry, ecosystems, and fisheries. He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, including highly influential papers such as "Mesoscale iron enrichment experiments 1993-2005: synthesis and future directions" (Boyd et al., 2007), "Testing the iron hypothesis in ecosystems of the equatorial Pacific Ocean" (Martin et al., 1994), "In situ evaluation of air-sea gas exchange parameterizations using novel conservative and volatile tracers" (Nightingale et al., 2000), "A mesoscale phytoplankton bloom in the polar Southern Ocean stimulated by iron fertilization" (Boyd et al., 2000), and "Synthesis of iron fertilization experiments: from the iron age in the age of enlightenment" (de Baar et al., 2005). His work contributes to policy development on ocean fertilisation through the London Convention and New Zealand government groups. Law serves on the IGBP SOLAS steering committee, University of Otago Ocean Acidification Theme steering committee, and Marsden ESA Review Panel. Major awards include the Prime Minister’s Science Team award (2011), Institute of Chemical Engineers Hutchinson Medal (2013), and University of Otago Science Division Research Group of the Year award (2015).