Mark Mueller became the Chief Scientist for the Florida Institute of Oceanography in October 2025, supporting scientific research production and collaboration for FIO and the Florida RESTORE Act Centers of Excellence Program (FLRACEP)

Mark is an interdisciplinary marine scientist and natural resource program manager with 19 years of ocean science and policy experience working for State, Regional, and Federal government management agencies, often involving the Gulf and Deepwater Horizon. He’s managed ~$30M in funding for various ocean resource management and monitoring projects including planning, procuring, and executing numerous research expeditions in US waters from the Gulf of Maine to American Samoa.

Mark earned his Bachelors from Eckerd College and a Master of Science and Graduate Certificate in GIS from the University of South Florida. He spent six years with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute researching and managing manatees and North Atlantic right whales, three years with the Gulf Fishery Management Council focused on shallow and deep coral habitat conservation, and ten years with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. As the Gulf Region’s lead benthic ecologist he developed research studies, wrote Environmental Impact Statements, and determined mitigations to reduce oil and gas industry impacts to sensitive seafloor habitats. At BOEM’s Headquarters Office of Environmental Programs he led teams developing and overseeing mission-critical research studies and regulations for seabed critical minerals and geological carbon sequestration and served as BOEM’s project manager on the RESTORE Act Open Ocean Restoration Area, Mesophotic and Deepwater Benthic Communities team. A passionate advocate for building partnerships, he coauthored the interagency U.S. National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Strategy and co-chaired the implementing Interagency Working Group on Ocean Exploration and Characterization with frequent collaborators NOAA and USGS.

Mark volunteers as a Career Mentor and Science Judge and loves sailing, world travel and crushing it at bar trivia with team #AggressivelyMediocre.

Experience: 19 Years
Specialization: Program Management, Research Production & Procurement, Benthic Ecology, Seafloor Mapping & Characterization