Dariusz Stramski is a professor of oceanography in the Marine Physical Laboratory division at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego. He founded the Ocean Optics Research Lab at Scripps in 1997 (see Links).

His research interests are in the areas of ocean optics, optical remote sensing of the ocean, and applications of optical methods in oceanography. Some of the most significant and influential contributions of his research include a wide range of findings about the optical properties of various types of marine biological and mineral particles and their roles in ocean optics, a reductionist approach to the detailed description of the composition of seawater as an optical medium, new approaches and algorithms for enhancing the capabilities of ocean color remote sensing, unique measurements for characterizing wave-focusing of sunlight at near-surface depths in the ocean, as well as advances in measurement methodologies and development of innovative technologies and instrumentation. For instance, Stramski’s work has documented the variability in spectral light absorption and scattering properties of many types of marine microorganisms including bacteria and various phytoplankton species as well as various types of mineral-dominated particulate assemblages. He pioneered the application of satellite remote sensing of ocean color for estimating the concentration of particulate organic carbon (POC) in the surface ocean and his algorithms have been used by NASA to produce the global ocean maps of POC from satellite ocean color missions. His contributions related to ocean color remote sensing also include inverse models for estimating the inherent optical properties of seawater from ocean reflectance and development of optical approaches for assessing phytoplankton community composition and characteristics of suspended particulate matter. His studies of light absorption resulted in improved methodology for measuring the particulate absorption coefficient and improved models for partitioning the absorption coefficient of seawater into phytoplankton and non-phytoplankton components. His work on focusing of sunlight by sea surface waves provides a unique resource of quantitative information on the highest naturally-occurring concentrations of solar energy on Earth. His work involving radiative transfer modeling resulted in novel insights into the near-surface light fields and low-light environments within the ocean mesopelagic zone. His experimental work at sea provides a wealth of information on light fields and seawater optical properties in various marine environments within the world’s oceans.

Stramski has been involved in the development of novel instrumentation to measure underwater light fields at shallow depths close to the sea surface including the upwelling radiance and wave focusing of downwelling light, as well as the spectral irradiance instrument for measuring extremely low light levels in the ocean. He also led the development of MANTA (Multi-spectral Advanced Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis) technology for counting and sizing submicrometer particles. This technology was patented and the instrument based on this technology is available from Horiba Scientific (see Links).

Born in Poland, Stramski received his M.S. with honors in oceanography (1978) and Ph.D. in Earth sciences (1985) from the University of Gdansk. He also received a Polish degree of habilitation in oceanography from the Polish Academy of Sciences (2002) and a title of Professor in Earth sciences presented by the President of Poland (2014). Prior to joining the Scripps faculty (1997), Stramski held a tenured research position at the Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences (1978-1988), a postdoctoral scholar position at Laboratoire d’Oceanographie in Villefranche-sur-Mer, France (1986-88), a visiting researcher position at Universite Laval in Quebec, Canada (1988-1989), and a Research Professor position at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles (1989-1997). For a number of years he served as Coordinator of the Applied Ocean Science Curricular Program at Scripps.

Stramski has been awarded the 2024 Nils Gunnar Jerlov Medal by The Oceanography Society in recognition of his significant and wide-ranging contributions to the field of optical oceanography. In 2017 he was elected a Foreign Member of the Polish Academy of Sciences and in 2014 a Distinguished Fellow of the Kosciuszko Foundation Collegium of Eminent Scientists, which honors eminent scientists of Polish origin and ancestry for outstanding scientific achievements. Stramski is also the recipient of the Maurycy Rudzki Prize from the Polish Academy of Sciences for studies of light fluctuations in the sea, Antarctica Service Medal presented by the National Science Foundation, the US Coast Guard Arctic Service Medal, and the NASA Group Achievement Award for the outstanding accomplishments by the Impacts of Climate Change on the Ecosystems and Chemistry of the Arctic Pacific Environment (ICESCAPE) Team. He also received French Government and UNESCO Fellowships to conduct his postdoctoral research in France.

Stramski has been a member of the NASA MODIS/VIIRS Science Team and NASA PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) Science and Applications Team. Example professional activities also include teaching at IOCCG Summer Lecture Series “Frontiers in Ocean Optics and Ocean Colour Science”, service as Associate Editor of Limnology and Oceanography, Editorial Board Member of Oceanology, Guest Editor of “Outstanding Topics in Ocean Optics”  published in Applied Sciences in 2018, and numerous national and international expert panels and working groups. He has been a Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator for over 50 research projects and participated in numerous oceanographic expeditions on research vessels from the US, Poland, France, Germany, and Russia. His publications include more than 120 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals.