Dr. Stephen Gittings
- Ph.D. Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, U.S.A., 1988
- M.S. Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, U.S.A., 1983
- B.S. Biology, Westminster College, New Wilmington, PA, U.S.A., 1979
Dr. Steve Gittings is Science Coordinator for NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary Program. He facilitates research in the nation's twelve marine sanctuaries, with emphasis on strategic planning, program development for regional and system-wide monitoring and research, and partnership-building. Between 1992 and 1998 he was Manager of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. Prior to 1992 he was an Assistant Research Scientist in the Geochemical and Environmental Research Group at Texas A&M University. He remains on the graduate faculty of Texas A&M.
Dr. Gittings has conducted studies of various marine habitats worldwide, and specializes in coral reef biology, ecology, biofouling, taxonomic and biogeographic relationships of barnacles, with experience in deep-sea ecological investigations. In 1980, he was involved in the biological characterization of the Flower Garden Banks, in 1983 he studied effects of a brine discharge on the biofouling community of surrounding waters in Cameron, Louisiana, and being interested in the taxonomic and biogeographic relationships of barnacles, has written a field guide to the barnacles of the Gulf of Mexico.