Nancy Targett, a professor of marine biology-biochemistry at the University of Delaware Graduate College of Marine Studies, has been named a National Associate of the National Academies in honor of her “extraordinary service” to the institution.
Comprising the National Academy of Sciences, the National Research Council, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine, the National Academies provide advice to Congress, the White House, and the public on science, technology, and health issues. They enlist committees of the nation’s top scientists, engineers, and policy experts who volunteer their time to study specific concerns.
Targett was awarded the honorary title — a lifetime appointment — in recognition of her service on the National Research Council’s Ocean Studies Board. Composed of 22 marine scientists from across the nation, the board examines the science, policies, and infrastructure needed to understand and protect U.S. marine and coastal environments and resources. Targett chaired the board’s Marine Biotechnology Committee last year and continues to serve on the Non-Native Oysters in the Chesapeake Committee.
A marine biochemist, Targett has been on the UD faculty since 1984 and is based at the Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes. She conducts research on how chemistry mediates interactions between marine organisms in habitats ranging from coral reefs to the Delaware Bay. Currently, she is working to develop an artificial bait that mimics the chemical attractant found in the horseshoe crab — Delaware’s state marine animal — to minimize the crab’s use as bait in the eel and conch fisheries.
Targett recently completed a five-year appointment as associate dean of the College of Marine Studies and a six-year appointment to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. She is the associate editor of the Journal of Chemical Ecology and a lifetime member of the International Society of Chemical Ecology.
In 1999, she was selected as a fellow of the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program. Sponsored by the Ecological Society of America, the program teaches environmental scientists how to become more effective communicators of scientific information to the public.
Targett resides in Lewes with her husband, Tim, and their daughter, Katharine.