Sallie W. Chisholm

Spring 2016 Honorary Degree Recipient

Doctor of Laws (honoris causa)

Dr. Sallie Chisholm is perhaps best known for showing us that big things come in small packages. In 1988, she co-discovered Prochlorococcus, the Earth’s smallest and most abundant photosynthetic microorganism. This is Dr. Chisholm’s first honorary degree, given in recognition of her pursuit of science in service to humanity and the Earth.

Dr. Chisholm graduated from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York with a BA in Biology and Chemistry in 1969, and a PhD in Biology from the State University of New York at Albany in 1974. Since 1976, Dr. Chisholm has been a faculty member at MIT, where she has earned the rank of institute professor, a position held by only one per cent of MIT faculty.

In 2012, Dr. Chisholm and Dr. John Cullen, professor emeritus in the Department of Oceanography at Dalhousie, received the Ruth Patrick Award from the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography for their longstanding collaboration in leading critical discussions about the practice of fertilizing the ocean to mitigate climate change. Dr. Chisholm delivered her acceptance speech for the 2005 Huntsman Award for Excellence in Marine Science, presented by the Royal Society of Canada, at Dalhousie and in 2002 oceanography graduate students selected Dr. Chisholm to give Dal’s prestigious Gordon A. Riley Lecture.

Dr. Chisholm’s many awards include the 2014 Killian Faculty Achievement Award from MIT and the 2010 Agassiz Medal from the National Academy of Sciences. In 2013, U.S. President Barack Obama presented Dr. Chisholm with the National Medal of Science, the highest honour awarded to American scientists and engineers.