Charles R. Fisher

Charles R. Fisher "Chuck" is a marine biologist, microbial ecologist, and leader in the field of autotrophic symbiosis in deep sea cold seeps and hydrothermal vents. He is Professor Emeritus and Distinguished Senior Scholar of Biology at Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Fisher has authored/coauthored over 100 publications in journals such as Nature, Oceanography, and PNAS among others. He heads the Fisher Deep-Sea Lab at Penn State, which primarily investigates the physiological ecology of the major chemoautotrophic symbiont-containing fauna in the deep ocean environment. The lab works closely with other interdisciplinary researchers on expeditions to research sites at cold seeps in the Gulf of Mexico and hydrothermal vent sites on the East Pacific Rise, the Juan de Fuca Ridge, and in the Lau back-arc Basin.

Education and awards

B.S., B.S. Michigan State University, 1976 M.A., University of California, Santa Barbara, 1981 Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara, 1985

Fisher was awarded the Penn State Faculty Scholars Medal in Biology in 2004 from the Eberly College of Sciences. This award provides $25,000 per year for 5 years and up to $100,000 annually if PYI funds were matched.

Research

Fisher has published many works pertaining to deep sea ecosystems and physiology, symbioses, and ecology of the animals inhabiting these ecosystems. Fisher has been influential in the study of chemoautotrophic bacterial symbiosis in the deep sea environment. He helped describe the horizontal endosymbiont transmission model in Riftia pachyptila, Oasisia alvinae and Tevnia jerichonana.

Fisher is actively researching damage assessment and recovery of deep sea ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico after the Deep Water Horizon spill.