Oceans Law & Policy

Guest Speakers

Spring 2013

Stephen Macko

January 29 & 30: The Physical Oceans: Geography, Resources, and Oceanographic Processes

Dr. Stephen A. Macko is a Professor of Isotope and Organic Geochemistry in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia. His areas of interest include marine organic geochemistry, deep ocean communities, meteorites and the Origins of Life as well as K-12 education and outreach.  He has authored over 250 refereed research papers and books; he was elected a Fellow of the Geochemical Society and of the European Association of Geochemistry in 2003 and is the Corresponding Education Editor for EOS. He received the All University Teaching Award at UVA and was a finalist for the State of Virginia Faculty of the Year award in 2007. Recent projects of his include studies on chemosynthesis at cold seep sites and hot vents using the Johnson Sea Link and Alvin submersibles for sample acquisition; interpretation of ancient human diet; tracking fires and aerosols from sub-Saharan Africa; establishing the geochemical conditions of the Earth prior to the origins of life and pioneering the broadcast of live interactive classes between Africa and the USA.

Dr. Robert Smith

April 9: Boundary Disputes and Delimitation

Dr. Smith advises on all aspects of ocean policies and planning and developing strategies for exploring and exploiting offshore resources, including risk assessments. He provides geographic and technical expertise for maritime boundary negotiations and arbitration, offshore jurisdictional claims, sovereignty disputes, and for the development of offshore energy resources. Previously, he worked for almost 31 years as a geographer for the U.S. Department of State where he was the U.S. government expert on maritime boundary and jurisdictional issues. He was responsible for the technical and geographical aspects of negotiating U.S. bilateral maritime boundaries and establishing U.S. claims to marine jurisdiction.

CDR James Kraska, USN

April 8: Oceans Policy and the Navy

Commander Kraska is a judge advocate in the U.S. Navy assigned to the International Law Department, U.S. Naval War College, where he was selected by the Provost to serve as the Howard S. Levie Chair in Operational Law, and invited by the Center for Irregular Warfare and Armed Groups to serve as a Senior Associate. Commander Kraska completed operational assignments with a Navy expeditionary task force forward deployed to Okinawa, Japan, and a joint/interagency counterdrug task force assigned to U.S. Pacific Command, and he served on four Pentagon flag-level staffs. He holds an SJD from the University of Virginia School of Law and is the author of numerous publications.

Thomas Kitsos

April 24: Oceans Policy Processes and the Future of Oceans Policy

Dr. Thomas Kitsos is an ocean policy consultant and former Executive Director of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. Dr. Kitsos was the Executive Director of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy from 2001 to 2004 and retired the next year from a position in the National Ocean Service in NOAA. He currently is a consultant with the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative.  His earlier experience includes six years at the U.S. Department of the Interior, serving as the Deputy Director and Acting Director of the Minerals Management Service. Prior to his tenure at Interior, Dr. Kitsos spent 20 years on the staff of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries.  His last position with the Merchant Marine Committee was as Chief Counsel, advising the Chairman on national ocean and coastal issues, offshore energy development, coastal management, and environmental and other marine management legislation.  Dr. Kitsos holds M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Political Science from the University of Illinois and taught at the University of Colorado.