Alumni Success Stories : Success Story

Testing the Waters
Mario Tamburri, Class of 1986
Hometown: San Pedro, Calif.
Education:
Bachelor’s degree: University of California, Santa Barbara
Master’s degree: University of Alabama
Ph.D.: University of South Carolina
Career: Marine biologist.

Formerly with Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing, Calif.

Currently Chief Scientist at the Alliance for Coastal Technologies and Associate Research Scientist at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Solomons, Md.

I was a local San Pedro, Calif., boy. I went to Bishop Montgomery High School in Torrance, Calif., and during the summers I always hung out at the beach.

When the time came for me to go to College, I chose Marymount because my older brother, Omero, had gone there and had a wonderful experience and because it was Catholic, and my family is fairly religious. My dad was first-generation Italian American, and my mother was born in Italy.

I had no idea what I wanted to do when I first got to Marymount. But that soon changed. I took a philosophy course with John Perkins, and I remember being tuned in to his logical arguments, which are very applicable to scientific research. And then I met Dr. Jim Coyer, who was a member of the science faculty at the time. Dr. Coyer got me interested in marine biology. And I’ve been hooked ever since. He was my mentor at Marymount, and I continued my education at universities where I could follow mentors.

At the Alliance for Coastal Technologies, I study the effectiveness of high-tech instruments that allow us to monitor our oceans and that can be used, for instance, to determine the health of coastal waters and predict a catastrophic event, such as the recent tsunami in Southeast Asia. My other main line of research is aquatic invasive species and how to stop their spread through a ship's ballast water. I’m focused on finding an environmentally friendly ballast water treatment effective at reducing the potential for the introduction of invasive species yet acceptable to the shipping industry in safety, time and cost. The work we're doing here is being reported all over the world, and some of my research was recently featured in a National Geographic story.

When I look back at the beginnings of my higher education, I am most grateful to Marymount. You have to remember that I came out of high school with a fairly undistinguished record. It was okay, but nothing great. I could have gone to a larger school, but who knows what would have happened to me? I would have been lost. I’d have gotten a degree in something, but it wouldn’t have been very meaningful. Marymount really allowed me to explore my interests.