From watching her father excel as a commercial tuna fisherman in San Diego, Ann Scarborough Bull, PhD grew a love for fish and the ocean at the age of four. From her years accompanying her father on board his boat, she came to discover her passion for marine biology and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry and biology from the University of California, San Diego. Subsequently, she matriculated at Louisiana State University, where she attained a Master of Arts and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1979. Upon graduating, she furthered her expertise by earning a postdoctoral degree at Johns Hopkins University, during which time she focused her work on the health of fish populations and their responses to anthropogenic degradation of their environments.

Commencing her professional endeavors, Dr. Bull gained expertise as a marine biologist studying in the Gulf of Mexico from 1998 to 2000 and as chief of environmental sciences for the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf Region of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management from 1988 to 2016. Today, Dr. Bull excels as an assistant project scientist and principal investigator with the University of California, Santa Barbara, a role she began in 2019. Among her numerous duties, she conducts research into the anthropomorphic effects on fish habitats and offshore oil and gas platforms around the world. Alongside this position, Dr. Bull sits on the board of directors for the Southern California Academy of Science.

Reflecting on her career thus far, Dr. Bull considers her most notable achievement is being a woman in a male-dominated industry. Notably, she is one of 10 scientists in the world that has studied oil and gas decommissioning practices and reefing options, as well as one of the first women in the Gulf of Mexico to be on a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research crew. Dr. Bull is also proud to have dedicated most of her graduate research time at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where many well-known people in the industry have been involved, imparting their knowledge and expertise to students.

In light of her breadth of work, Dr. Bull has contributed to such publications as “Worldwide Oil and Gas Platform Decommissioning: A Review of Practices and Reefing Options,” which was featured in the Journal of Ocean and Coastal Management in 2018. Among numerous other works, she also co-authored “Artificial Reefs and Fishery Conservation Tools: Contrasting the Roles of Offshore Structures between the Gulf of Mexico and the Southern California Bight,” which was featured at the Fourth International Fisheries Congress in 2008.