In honor of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science being celebrated earlier this week, our second Black History Month Spotlight is highlighting Dr. Dawn Wright, an oceanographer, marine GIS pioneer, and Chief Scientist at Esri, the global leader in geographic information system (GIS) technology!
From the age of 8, Wright knew she wanted to be an oceanographer. She was born in Maryland in 1961, but raised in Hawaii, spending her childhood exploring the beach and reading books about sea adventures. She was fascinated by maps from an early age and frequently found herself wondering why they never showed anything beneath the ocean surface. Her curiosity led her to seek further education, earning a BS in geology from Wheaton College in 1983, and an MS in oceanography from Texas A&M University in 1986.
After getting her master’s degree, Wright spent three years working as a marine technician for the Ocean Drilling Program, where she sailed on 2-month trips throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans sampling the seafloor. Her introduction to GIS did not occur until later when attending the University of California, Santa Barbara for her PhD. A professor had just returned from a research expedition and recruited Wright to analyze and interpret data she had collected with a new, innovative software at the time called ArcInfo – the predecessor to ArcGIS. This was lifechanging for Wright.
While studying for her doctorate, Dr. Wright became the first black woman to dive to the ocean floor. She used GIS technology to understand the data she was collecting, revealing connections between volcanic eruptions, marine plate tectonics, and hydrothermal vents. Wright incorporated this data into her dissertation and graduated with her PhD in physical geography and marine geology in 1994. The following year, she began teaching as a professor of geography and oceanography at Oregon State University, and ran a lab jokingly referred to as “Davey Jones’ Locker”. She was awarded Oregon Professor of the Year in 2007.
Dr. Dawn Wright is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences for her work contributing to global initiatives helping map, analyze, and conserve ocean ecosystems. She has served on the NOAA Science Advisory Board, the EPA Science Advisory Board, and the National Academy of Sciences Ocean Studies Board. As a leader in the application of GIS technologies to the oceanography field, Wright has also written and co-authored foundational literature on marine GIS technology, including over 130 articles and 5 books. In 2022, she made history again as the first black person to visit Challenger Deep, the deepest point on Earth.
Today, Dr. Wright is Chief Scientist at Esri, where she helps advance the science behind their leading software and represents the company internationally. Since beginning her career, she has participated in 20+ global oceanographic research voyages and established herself as a pioneer in the field of marine GIS. Dr. Wright’s work has provided groundbreaking insights that have helped shape our understanding of the ocean and how to preserve it. Her contributions have positioned her as an expert in the field and serve as a great source of inspiration for future generations of scientists. As we honor the work of Dr. Dawn Wright, we are reminded that black women have been important figures in scientific advancement throughout history and continue to break barriers every day.