Susan M. Libes, a marine science and chemistry professor at Coastal Carolina University and a founder of the Waccamaw Riverkeeper program, will give a public lecture on the state of the river titled "Why We Should All Be Waccamaw Waterwatchers" on Thursday, Oct. 30, at 7:30 p.m. in the Wall Auditorium. The lecture is the 2003 installment of the annual Distinguished Teacher-Scholar Lecturer series. The event is free and open to the public.

In her lecture, Libes will draw from her own extensive research to present a detailed account of the environmental well-being of the river and its importance to the future of the region. She will outline proposals for educational programs, public service efforts and governmental coordination aimed at improving the management of local natural resources..

Libes, a native of New York, earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1977 from Douglass College, Rutgers University, graduating with general honors and distinction in chemistry. She received a Ph.D. in chemical oceanography from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Massachusetts Institute of Technology's joint program in oceanography and ocean engineering in 1983. .

Libes joined the Coastal faculty in 1983 and served as chair of the Department of Marine Science from 1993 to 2000. She is the founding program director of Coastal's state-certified Environmental Quality Laboratory, which conducts water quality analysis of area beaches and waterways in conjunction with local municipalities and state regulatory agencies. Libes is also a research associate at USC's Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine Biology and Coastal Research, an adjunct professor in Clemson University's Department of Forest Resources and a research associate of Coastal's Burroughs & Chapin Center for Marine and Wetland Studies..

In 2001, Libes helped create the Winyah Rivers Foundation, whose official purpose is "to protect, preserve, monitor and revitalize the health of the lands and waters of the greater Winyah Watershed." She is the author of "An Introduction to Marine Biogeochemistry," widely used as a textbook in colleges and universities. .

Libes was one of the first four faculty members selected to participate in Coastal's new Public Engagement Directed Studies program in 2002-2003 to facilitate the development of the Waccamaw Riverkeeper program and to assist the City of Conway and Horry County with stormwater pollution management..

Libes is the eighth recipient of the Distinguished Teacher-Scholar Lecturer award, sponsored annually by Horry Telephone Cooperative.