Daniel C. Abel, professor of marine science at Coastal Carolina University, has been selected to receive the 2012 Harry Hampton Woods & Waters Conservation Memorial Journalism Award from the South Carolina Wildlife Federation. The award will be presented at the annual awards banquet in Columbia on Feb. 1.

Abel spearheaded CCU's sustainability initiative in 2005. He joined the CCU faculty in 1994 and was named a senior fellow of the U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development in recognition of his efforts to promote sustainability on campus, in the curriculum and in the community.

He is a member of the board of directors of the Dogwood Alliance, a group dedicated to protecting southern forests. He wrote a regular column on environmental issues for The Sun News from 2009 to 2011.

He also received the Horry Environmental Action Team's "Heat is On" Award for environmental justice and advocacy in October 2010.

Abel earned a Ph.D. in 1986 from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego. He has published many scientific articles on sharks and tropical air-breathing fish, and co-wrote the textbook "Issues in Oceanography."

The S.C. Wildlife Federation has recognized outstanding contributions to conservation at its annual awards banquet for the past 48 years.