Commemorating the 100th birthday of an ocean visionary
On September 6th, 2025, alumni, faculty, students, staff and friends of the Graduate School of Oceanography gathered to honor the legacy of the late Dr. John Knauss, visionary marine scientist and founding dean of GSO, whose 100th birthday would have been on September 1, 2025.
The day began with tours of the Bay Campus to highlight some of the unique facilities at GSO. Later, a panel discussion featured reflections on the pioneering contributions Dr. Knauss made to URI and oceanography, and how his vision continues to inspire the rapidly expanding field of ocean science, generations of ocean leaders, and growth at GSO and the Narragansett Bay Campus. The panel included:
- Margaret Leinen, Ph.D. ’80, Director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego
- James A. Yoder, M.S. ’74, Ph.D. ’79, professor emeritus at the University of Rhode Island and dean emeritus at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and committee co-chair for “Forecasting the Ocean: The 2025–2035 Decade of Ocean Science”
- Matthew Horn, Ph.D. ’11, Business Unit Lead and Principal Scientist, Tetra Tech – RPS; Chair, GSO Advisory Council
- Erin K. Peck, Assistant Professor at GSO with a specialty in coastal marine geology and geophysics
- And a special pre-recorded message from former
- gsoDean Robert Duce
Guests were invited to stay for a reception following the program, where the GSO community gathered and reconnected.