Terrence Gosliner, Ph.D.

Dean of Science and Research Collections, Harry W. and Diana V. Hind Chair

As Dean of Science and Research Collections, Dr.Terrence Gosliner oversees the scientific research programs and staff at the California Academy of Sciences.
 
He guides the Academy’s efforts in research to discover new knowledge about life's diversity, and to use that knowledge to promote the future health of biological diversity, and better understand mechanisms of evolutionary change. The scientific staff includes 19 curators and about 80 research staff, postdoctoral associates, and students. Research disciplines include evolutionary biology, systematics, conservation biology and genetics, as well as anthropology, botany, comparative genomics, entomology, geology, herpetology, ichthyology, invertebrate zoology, mammalogy, and ornithology. Dr. Gosliner also oversees the care and wise use of the Academy’s research collections—an invaluable resource including more than 26 million scientific specimens from around the world.
 
Dr. Gosliner is also a leading researcher in the evolutionary history of nudibranchs (the colorful group also known as sea slugs), and has published more than 150 scientific papers and five books in his career. His field studies have uncovered more than one thousand new species, and have taken him to southern Africa, the western Indian Ocean, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Hawaii. Dr. Gosliner is also a champion of educational outreach, particularly in the Philippines, where he has worked with local researchers, educators and community leaders to share knowledge and resources with locals, empowering them to prioritize conservation in Philippine waters rich with biodiversity. Dr. Gosliner first joined the Academy as an Assistant Curator in 1982, and has previously served as Director of Research, and Provost of the Academy.
 
Dr. Gosliner received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Berkeley in 1972, his Masters of Science from the University of Hawaii in 1973 and his Ph.D. from the University of New Hampshire in 1978.

The California Academy of Sciences is a leading scientific and cultural institution based in San Francisco. It is home to an aquarium, planetarium, natural history museum, and research and education programs, which engage people of all ages and backgrounds on two of the most important topics of our time: life and its sustainability. Founded in 1853, the Academy’s mission is to explore, explain, and sustain life. Visit www.calacademy.org for more information.