Ruth Gates

Ruth Gates
Ruth Gates discusses coral reef science on ThinkTech Hawaii in 2016
Born
Ruth Deborah Gates

(1962-03-28)March 28, 1962
Akrotiri, Cyprus
DiedOctober 25, 2018(2018-10-25) (aged 56)
Kailua, Hawaii, U.S.
Alma materNewcastle University (BSc, PhD)
Known forCoral reef research
SpouseRobin Burton-Gates
Scientific career
FieldsMarine biology
InstitutionsUniversity of California, Los Angeles
Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology
ThesisSeawater temperature and algal-cnidarian symbiosis (1989)
Websitegatescorallab.com

Ruth Deborah Gates (March 28, 1962 – October 25, 2018) was the Director of the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology and the first woman to be President of the International Society for Reef Studies. Her research was dedicated to understanding coral reef ecosystems, specifically coral-algal symbiosis and the capacity for corals to acclimatize under future climate change conditions. Doctor Gates is most accredited with looking at coral biology and human-assisted coral evolution, known as super corals, as notably seen in the documentary Chasing Coral, available on Netflix.