Damian is a Professor of Oceanography and Acting Director of the Darling Marine Center. His research interests, while broad, focus on how models can inform better decision-making in marine ecosystems to reflect the values of the coastal communities that rely on them. The decision-making contexts have included aquaculture, offshore wind, marine carbon dioxide removal, the American lobster fishery, sea-run fish, and coastal water quality. The Gulf of Maine is an important economic driver for the region with important fisheries and aquaculture operations; however, dynamic new ocean industries are emerging, such as recirculating aquaculture systems, floating offshore wind, and marine carbon dioxide removal. Many of these new and emerging technologies purport to address our pressing climate change induced challenges. To determine whether these emerging technologies can address these challenges, our team develops, calibrates, and validates tools, such as techno-economic analyses, marine ecosystem models, remote sensing, and oceanographic buoys, to collect objective, science-based information and importantly, communicate these results to coastal communities.
Dr. Brady co-chairs the Science and Technical Subcommittee for the Governor of Maine’s Climate Action Plan, Maine Won’t Wait, serves on the Governor’s Offshore Wind Research Consortium, and serves on the board of the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center. From 2019-2023, he chaired the Regional Association for Research on the Gulf of Maine. In 2019, Dr. Brady was named the Agatha B. Darling Professor of Oceanography. He lives in Damariscotta with his wife, three daughters, and a rabbit named George.
