Dr. Pomponi, who is a Research Professor at Florida Atlantic University-Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, will be the 24th woman to receive a NOGI since the award's inception 64 years ago, and one of only three women to receive the Science award. 

Dr. Pomponi is well known in the industry for her work in marine biotechnology, which focuses specifically on sponge systematics and molecular biology, and has spent over 45 years studying Porifera. Her work helped uncover a deep-water sponge which possesses the anti-cancer chemical discodermolide, a chemical which is now being developed by pharmaceutical companies in America as a cancer drug.

A step in the right direction

Historically, fewer than 10% of the 250 NOGI award recipients have been women, making Dr. Pomponi’s nomination a much needed step forward in acknowledgement of female contributions to the environmental and conservation industry. 

Other pioneering women to have received a NOGI include Dr. Eugenie Clark, who successfully lobbied for the first Egyptian National Marine Park in Ras Mohammed and Dr. Sylvia A. Earle, who spent two weeks at the bottom of the ocean on the all-female Tektite II, Mission 6, expedition. 

What are NOGIs?

Known as the scuba industry’s ‘Oscars’, NOGIs (which stand for New Orleans Grand Isle) began as spearfishing awards back in 1960 but are now synonymous with outstanding contributions to understanding and safeguarding our ocean environments. Started in 1960, NOGIs have been awarded to the likes of Carl Hauber, the Underwater Society of America’s first president, Chuck Blakeslee and Jim Auxier, Skin Diver Magazine’s founders and, naturally, Jacques-Yves Cousteau.

NOGIs are part of the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences (AUAS), which is a non-profit organisation created to acknowledge those who have made a ‘global impact on the exploration, enjoyment, safety, and preservation of the underwater world’.