Dennis J. McGillicuddy, Jr. is a Senior Scientist in the Department of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.  His primary research interest is the interface between the fluid dynamics and the biology of the sea.  He has pursued physical-biological-chemical interactions in four contexts: (1)  the role of eddies in biogeochemical cycling of the open ocean , (2)  impacts of coastal circulation on zooplankton dynamics, (3) the dynamics of harmful algal blooms, and (4) larval dispersal in deep-sea vent communities.  

Dr. McGillicuddy received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1993, and joined the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 1993 as a Postdoctoral Scholar.  He was appointed to the scientific staff in 1996.  He was a recipient of the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award (1998) and the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography’s Lindeman Award (2000), and the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel Award (2008).  He is author or co-author of over one hundred fifty refereed publications and more than thirty technical reports, along with eight edited volumes and one book.

Dr. McGillicuddy has been very active in the oversight of large interdisciplinary oceanographic programs on both national and international levels, having served on the scientific steering committees of the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study, the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Program, and the Global Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms. Dr. McGillicuddy currently serves as Director of the Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health. 

Dr. McGillicuddy served as chair of the Department of Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering from 2016 to 2022 and currently serves as interim chair.

Dr. McGillicuddy currently serves as WHOI’s Chief Science Officer for Ocean and Government Affairs.