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{{Short description|Indian-German oceanographer & marine biologist}}

'''Victor Smetacek''' (born 1946 in [[Kolkata]], [[India]]) is an Indian-German [[Oceanography|oceanographer]] and [[Marine biology|marine biologist]]. From 1986 to 2011, he served as professor of biological oceanography at the [[University of Bremen]] and head of the Pelagic Ecosystems Division at the [[Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research]] in [[Bremerhaven]], [[Germany]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Begehrter Preis für Ozeanographie geht an Prof. Dr. Victor Smetacek - AWI|url=https://www.awi.de/ueber-uns/service/presse/presse-detailansicht/begehrter-preis-fuer-ozeanographie-geht-an-prof-dr-victor-smetacek.html|website=awi.de|access-date=2026-01-31}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Victor SMETACEK {{!}} Professor Emeritus {{!}} Professor {{!}} Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven {{!}} AWI {{!}} Department of Polar Biological Oceanography {{!}} Research profile|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Victor-Smetacek|website=ResearchGate|access-date=2026-01-31|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250518015718/https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Victor-Smetacek|archive-date=2025-05-18|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Victor Smetacek {{!}} Centro IDEAL|url=https://centroideal.cl/en/team/dr-victor-smetacek-2/|access-date=2026-01-31|language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Victor Shahed Smetacek was born in 1946 in [[Kolkata]], [[India]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|title=A voyage of discovery: Victor Smetacek|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/421897a|journal=Nature|date=February 2003|issn=1476-4687|pages=897–897|volume=421|issue=6926|doi=10.1038/421897a|language=en}}</ref> He grew up in the foothills of the [[Himalayas]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Victor Smetaceks Heimat - „Zwischen Leoparden und Tigern aufgewachsen“|url=https://www.nordsee-zeitung.de/bremerhaven/victor-smetaceks-heimat-zwischen-leoparden-und-tigern-aufgewachsen-299641.html|website=NZ-Online|access-date=2026-01-31|language=de}}</ref> and developed a passion for natural history during his childhood. Motivated by a desire to address societal challenges, including famines occurring in India at the time, he pursued studies in marine biology.<ref name=":2" />

In 1964, Smetacek earned his B.Sc. in Biology and Economics from Government Degree College in [[Nainital]], which was then affiliated with [[Agra University]] (now [[Kumaun University|Kumaon University]]).<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Interview mit Prof. Victor Smetacek, Forscher zum nachhaltigen Leben mit dem Ozean |url=https://archive.mundusmaris.org/index.php/de/begegnungen/wissenschaftler/529-victor-de |access-date=2026-02-03 |website=archive.mundusmaris.org}}</ref> He subsequently received a scholarship from the [[German Academic Exchange Service|German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)]] to study marine biology at [[Kiel University]] in [[Germany]].

Smetacek completed his [[Doctorate|doctoral degree]] in 1975 at [[Kiel University]] with a dissertation titled "''Die Sukzession des Phytoplanktons in der westlichen Kieler Bucht''" (The Succession of Phytoplankton in the Western Kiel Bight).<ref>{{Cite thesis|title=Die Sukzession des Phytoplanktons in der westlichen Kieler Bucht|url=https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/23276/|publisher=Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel|year=1977|degree=PhD|language=de|first=Victor|last=Smetacek}}</ref> He completed his [[habilitation]] in 1985 at [[Kiel University]] with a thesis on "''Die Struktur mariner pelagischer Systeme: Ansätze zu einer Synthese von physiko-chemischen und biologischen Betrachtungsweisen''" (The Structure of Marine Pelagic Systems: Approaches to a Synthesis of Physico-chemical and Biological Perspectives).<ref>{{Cite thesis|title=Die Struktur mariner pelagischer Systeme: Ansätze zu einer Synthese von physikoçhemischen und biologischen Betrachtungsweisen|url=https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/36609/|publisher=Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel|year=1985|degree=habil|language=de|first=Victor|last=Smetacek}}</ref>

== Academic career ==
Smetacek has been affiliated with the [[Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research]] in [[Bremerhaven]] since 1986, where he headed the Pelagic Ecosystems Division.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> He served as chief scientist on eight interdisciplinary, international research cruises aboard the [[RV Polarstern]]. As Professor of Bio-Oceanography at the [[University of Bremen]] from 1986 to 2011, he supervised many PhD and diploma students.<ref name=":3" />

== Research and publications ==
Smetacek has published numerous papers in leading scientific journals, including [[Nature (journal)|Nature]] and [[Science (journal)|Science.]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Victor Smetacek|url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=kGVkj2kAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra|publisher=Google Scholar|access-date=2026-01-31}}</ref> He is recognised for his [[Interdisciplinarity|interdisciplinary]] approach and innovative thinking in marine sciences, particularly his work on [[Iron fertilization|iron fertilisation]] experiments in the [[Southern Ocean]], including the EisenEx, EIFEX and [[LOHAFEX]] projects.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Iron-seeding ship sets sail|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126913-700-iron-seeding-ship-sets-sail/|website=New Scientist|access-date=2026-01-31|language=en-US}}</ref>

Beyond traditional oceanography, he has explored diverse topics. In 1992, he published a paper in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' on the connection between [[Leonardo da Vinci|Leonardo da Vinci’s]] [[Mirror writing|mirror-writing]] and [[Handedness|left-handedness.]]<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Mirror-script and left-handedness|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/355118b0|journal=Nature|date=January 1992|issn=1476-4687|pages=118–119|volume=355|issue=6356|doi=10.1038/355118b0|language=en|first=Victor|last=Smetacek}}</ref> In 2010, he proposed a hypothesis about the core function of sleep, suggesting it involves recalibration and readjustment of sense organs and brain-body connections, published in [[Medical Hypotheses|Medical Hypotheses.]]<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Recalibrating sleep: Is recalibration and readjustment of sense organs and brain–body connections the core function of sleep?|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306987710001829|journal=Medical Hypotheses|date=2010-10-01|issn=0306-9877|pages=401–404|volume=75|issue=4|doi=10.1016/j.mehy.2010.04.008|first=Victor|last=Smetacek}}</ref> Smetacek proposed and helped develop the "whale poop" hypothesis, which describes how whales play a crucial role as ecosystem engineers in ocean nutrient cycling.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Iron defecation by sperm whales stimulates carbon export in the Southern Ocean|url=https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article-abstract/277/1699/3527/73354/Iron-defecation-by-sperm-whales-stimulates-carbon?redirectedFrom=fulltext|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|date=2010-11-01|issn=0962-8452|volume=277|issue=1699|doi=10.1098/r|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251225225921/https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article-abstract/277/1699/3527/73354/Iron-defecation-by-sperm-whales-stimulates-carbon?redirectedFrom=fulltext|archive-date=2025-12-25|language=en|last1=Lavery|first1=Trish J.|last2=Roudnew|first2=Ben|last3=Gill|first3=Peter|last4=Seymour|first4=Justin|last5=Seuront|first5=Laurent|last6=Johnson|first6=Genevieve|last7=Mitchell|first7=James G.|last8=Smetacek|first8=Victor}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=The Power Of Poop: A Whale Story|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2014/04/03/298778615/the-power-of-poop-a-whale-story|publisher=NPR|date=2014-04-05|access-date=2026-01-31|language=en|first=Robert|last=Krulwich}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=A whale of an appetite revealed by analysis of prey consumption|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02951-3|journal=Nature|date=November 2021|pages=33–34|volume=599|issue=7883|doi=10.1038/d41586-021-02951-3|language=en|first=Victor|last=Smetacek}}</ref>

In a 2003 interview with [[Nature (journal)|Nature]], he discussed his research philosophy and interdisciplinary thinking.<ref name=":2" />

In recent years, Smetacek has developed and promoted the concept of open-ocean, floating [[Sargassum]] aquafarms, which he refers to as the "third agricultural revolution."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Eine Wand aus Algen auf dem Meeresgrund – 6.000 Kilometer lang|url=https://klimareporter.de/erdsystem/eine-wand-aus-algen-auf-dem-meeresgrund-6000-kilometer-lang|website=Klimareporter°|date=2023-06-29|access-date=2026-01-31|language=de-de|first=David|last=Zauner}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=„Algen können die Welt retten“|url=https://www.fr.de/politik/algen-koennen-die-welt-retten-92381590.html|website=fr.de|date=2023-07-04|access-date=2026-01-31|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Algae farms for climate protection|url=https://www.helmholtz.de/en/newsroom/article/algae-farms-for-climate-protection/|website=Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren|date=2023-05-25|access-date=2026-01-31|language=en-GB}}</ref> This vision led to the establishment of Seafields Solutions Ltd., a UK-based start-up working to implement this concept.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Seafields|url=https://www.seafields.eco/advisors|website=Seafields|access-date=2026-01-31|language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Awards and recognition ==
Smetacek has received several prestigious awards throughout his career:

* [[A.G. Huntsman Award for Excellence in the Marine Sciences|A. G. Huntsman Award for Excellence in the Marine Sciences]] (1995) – recognised as "one of the world's leading biological oceanographers"<ref>{{Cite web|title=1995 VICTOR SMETACEK|url=https://huntsmanaward.weebly.com/1995-victor-smetacek.html|website=A. G. HUNTSMAN AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE MARINE SCIENCES|access-date=2026-01-31|language=en}}</ref>
* [[Manley-Bendall Medal]] (2003) – awarded by the [[Institut océanographique de Paris|Oceanographic Institute in Paris]] for his work in marine biology and expertise on plankton<ref name=":0" />
* [[Pravasi Bharatiya Samman]] (Overseas Indian Award) (2012) – presented by the [[Government of India]] for outstanding contributions in the field of science<ref>{{Cite news|title=MEA {{!}} Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA)|url=https://www.mea.gov.in/pravasi-bharatiya-samman.htm|work=Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India|access-date=2026-01-31|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251007002315/https://www.mea.gov.in/pravasi-bharatiya-samman.htm|archive-date=2025-10-07|language=en-US}}</ref>

== References ==
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Victor Smetacek - Revision history

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