After majoring in biology at Wake Forest University, Susan Akers broke new ground for Duke Law students by pairing her JD studies with the pursuit of a graduate degree in environmental management from the Duke School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (now called the Nicholas School of the Environment).
The Environmental Law and Policy Clinic weighed in on the first-ever regulations proposed for mineral exploitation of the ocean floor in June, emphasizing the need to protect deep-sea biodiversity and ecosystem function. Little is known about life in the deep sea, a region scientists have only recently begun to explore, but discoveries over the past few years by Duke scientists and others have provided glimpses of an astonishing range of biodiversity — including unique life forms thriving in super-heated thermal vent environments.
