Profile

Dr. Madilyn Fletcher has been Director of the School of the Environment (SoE) since 2006, and preceding that she was Director of the Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences at the University of South Carolina. The SoE is a multi-disciplinary unit in the College of Arts and Sciences that fosters the development of research and education programs addressing complex environmental problems and issues that encompass the range from natural habitats to human society development. Prior to coming to the University of South Carolina, Fletcher was Director of the Center of Marine Biotechnology at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, and she has also been on the faculty at the University of Warwick in England and worked with the US Department of Energy.  She has a strong interest in regional partnering and the development of initiatives that coordinate strong science with real-world applications and needs.

In recent years, Madilyn Fletcher has focused efforts on the development of coastal ocean observing systems, with a particular emphasis on environmental information and creation of processes and protocols for optimum use of a variety of complex data.  She was Principal Investigator for the Carolinas Coastal Ocean Observing System (Caro-COOPS), which has now transitioned into the Carolinas Regional Coastal Ocean Observing System (Carolinas RCOOS), a partnership with the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. These systems are designed to integrate real-time monitoring of hydrologic and meteorological conditions with stakeholder needs and applications for public use, problem-solving, and decision-making.

As an individual investigator and microbiologist, Madilyn Fletcher conducted research for over 30 years on aspects of bacterial attachment to solid surfaces, physiological activity of attached bacteria, and molecular characterization of bacterial communities. This work has resulted in over 100 articles and 5 edited books.

She lives in the country in an old Victorian farmhouse, and enjoys exploring nature, photography, reading, and spending time with her 5 dogs and 5 cats.

Selected Publications

M.F. DeFlaun, Oppenheimer, S.R., C.C. Condee, and M. Fletcher. 1999. Alterations in adhesion, transport, and membrane polymers in an adhesion-deficient pseudomonad. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65: 759-765.

Van Schie, P.M. and M. Fletcher. 1999. Adhesion of biodegradative anaerobic bacteria to solid surfaces. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65:5082-5088.

Fletcher, M. and P. Noble. 2000. Molecular approaches for characterizing microbial community structure in estuaries. In: Microbial Biosystems: New Frontiers: Proceedings of the 8th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology, Halifax, August 1998, pp. 113-118.

Fredrickson, J.K. and M. Fletcher (eds.) 2001. Subsurface Microbiology. John Wiley, New York.

Fletcher, M. and E.M. Murphy. 2001. Transport of bacteria in subsurface systems. In: J.K. Fredrickson & M. Fletcher (eds.), Subsurface Microbiology. John Wiley, New York, pp. 39-68.

S.E. Silliman, R. Dunlap, M. Fletcher, and M.A. Schneegurt. 2002. Bacterial transport in heterogeneous porous media: observations from laboratory experiments. Water Resources Research 37: 2699-2707.

Noble, P.A., R.G. Tymowski, M. Fletcher, J.T. Morris, A.J. Lewitus. 2003. Contrasting patterns of phytoplankton community pigment composition in two salt marsh estuaries in southeastern United States. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69:4129-4143.

D.E. Porter, T. Small, D. White, M. Fletcher, A. Norman, D. Swain, J. Friedmann. 2004. Data management in support of environmental monitoring, research and coastal management. J. Coastal Res. 45:9-16.

The Carolinas Coastal Ocean Observing and Prediction System (Caro-COOPS): A User-Driven System. Madilyn Fletcher, Dwayne E. Porter, Braxton Davis, Leonard J. Pietrafesa, Earle Buckley, Lian Xie. 2005. Proceedings of “Oceans 2005 MTS/IEEE”, Washington DC, September 18-23, 2005

M. Fletcher, D.Porter, L. Leonard, M. Moss, M. Durako, J. Dorton, L.J. Pietrafesa, E. Buckley, L. Xie. 2006. Adaptive integration of sub-regional coastal ocean observing systems: a case study of the coastal ocean research and monitoring program (CORMP) and the Carolinas Coastal Ocean Observing and Prediction System (Caro-COOPS). 2006. Proceedings of “Oceans 2006 MTS/IEEE”, Boston, MA, September 18-21, 2006

M. Fletcher, D. Porter, J. Cothran, H. Seim. 2006. Information management in the Southeast Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing System: A regional approach. Proceedings of “Oceans 2006 MTS/IEEE”, Boston, MA, September 18-21, 2006

H.E. Seim, F.W. Werner, J.R. Nelson, L. Spence, M. Fletcher, C.N.K. Mooers, R.H. Weisberg. 2006. Progress of SEACOOS as a prototype U.S. regional coastal ocean observing system. Proceedings of US/EU - Baltic International Symposium May23-25, 2006 Klapeda, Lithuania.

W. Johnson, A.J. Lewitus, and M. Fletcher. 2006.  Linking bacterioplankton community structures to environmental state variables and phytoplankton assemblages in two South Carolina salt marsh estuaries.  Aquatic Microb. Ecol. 45:129-145.

Seim,. H.E., C.N.K. Mooers, J.R. Nelson, R.H. Weisberg and M. Fletcher, 2008.  Towards a regional coastal ocean observing system design for the southeast coastal ocean observing regional association. Journal of Marine Systems, DOI 10.1016/j.jmarsys.2007.12.016.

 

Seim, H.E., L. Leonard, D.Savidge, and M. Fletcher.  2008. Observing system depiction of circulation on the SE coastal ocean.  Proceedings of US/EU-Baltic International Symposium May 27-29, 2008 Tallinn, Estonia.  pp:1 - 4 DOI 10.1109/BALTIC.2008.4625540.

 

Fletcher, M., J. Cleary, J. Cothran, and D. Porter.  2008. Southeast Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observation System (SEACOOS) Information Management: Evolution of a Distributed Community System.  Marine Technology Society Journal. 42:28-34.

 

Seim, H.E., J. Nelson, M. Fletcher, C.N.K. Mooers, L. Spence, R. Weisberg, F. Werner, S.S. Smith, and R. Lea.  2008. SEACOOS Program Management.  .  Marine Technology Society Journal.  42:17-27.

 

Fletcher, M., D. Porter, J. Cothran, J. Cleary. 2008.  Integration of Environmental Information Systems.  Proceedings of the 2008 Water Resources Conference, Oct. 14-15. 2008.