By Veronica M. Berounsky, Ph.D. ’90
Imagine coming to the United States for the first time, entering a doctoral program and being told you have only four years to attain your Ph.D., all while English is not your native language and your husband and two young sons remain at home, an ocean away. Despite these formidable obstacles, Huasheng Hong, Ph.D. ’84, not only completed her studies in time, but returned home as an oceanographic pioneer and a tireless advocate for ocean science in the People’s Republic of China.
Born in 1944 and growing up in China, Hong never imagined she would visit the United States, much less study there. After completing her bachelor’s degree in chemistry, she began work as a chemical technician. However, historic meetings between U.S. President Richard Nixon and leaders of the People’s Republic of China in 1972 paved the way for increased scientific exchange between the two countries. Eventually China’s Ministry of Education established a program to pay for Chinese college graduates to attend science graduate programs in the United States. With this new opportunity, Hong began to dream of a career in marine chemistry.
Her journey to URI was facilitated by the late GSO Professor Dana Kester, who volunteered to take part in the new program. After productive discussions with Xiamen University Professor Li Faxi, and letters back and forth to GSO, Hong arrived in Narragansett in August 1980.
With the support of her host family, the late URI Professor James Fasching, his wife Diane and their son Nathan, Hong acclimated to a new language and environment. Kester, Hong’s major professor, and her lab mates—Peter Bates, Jane Elrod, M.S. ’79, Ph.D. ’84, and Wayne Warren—not only assisted Huasheng with research, but helped her adjust to life in the U.S.
Hong’s dissertation research, entitled “Chemistry of Iron in Different Marine Environments and the Binding of Iron, Copper, Manganese and Aluminum with Particles in a Microcosm System,” took her to ecosystems as close as GSO’s Marine Ecosystem Research Laboratory mesocosms and the Connecticut River, and as far away as the waters off Peru and the slope water of the Northwest Atlantic where she gained foundational experiences in both lab and field work. In May of 1984, Huasheng defended her dissertation and attended the URI graduation ceremony. She returned home to her family with a dream fulfilled, and a host of ideas to advance ocean science in China.
A Pioneer and Advocate
Hong’s efforts to advance oceanography in her home country began when she organized the Marine Biogeochemistry Research Group at Xiamen University in 1985. By 1991, she was a professor at the university’s State Key Laboratory for Environmental Science and in 1996 was elected as the founding dean of the College of Marine and Environmental Science.
Hong’s prolific career includes having published 285 papers on topics ranging from biogeochemistry to the response of marine ecosystems to global change, mentoring 48 doctoral students and 10 post-doctoral researchers, and serving on international scientific committees, such as the China-International Committee of Scientific Oceanic Research.
During her time at GSO, Hong was inspired by URI’s Department of Marine Affairs, established in 1970 by Dean Emeritus John Knauss and others, and embraced the importance of using science to inform management and policy issues. In 2005, Hong founded the Coastal and Ocean Management Institute at Xiamen University.
In 2006, Hong returned to URI for a conference focused on the need to support scientists from different countries working together, and connecting scientists and policy makers. Called the “Global U8 Consortium,” URI, Xiamen University and six other universities developed a plan for an international marine affairs masters program and to increase opportunities for student- and faculty-cultural exchange. While on that trip, Hong visited Knauss and informed him of the progress she was making toward an international marine affairs program.
In 2007, she led the founding of China’s first international marine affairs program, based at Xiamen University.
Hong in Watkins Laboratory—
at her desk in 1984 holding five copies of her doctoral dissertation.
Hong (center) at URI Commencement ceremonies in 1984 with GSO professors Kester (left) and Fasching. 
Hong with university presidents Carothers (URI) and Zhu Chongshi (XMU) in 2006. 
Presidents of the GU8 Consortium Universities in 2006 
Hong visits GSO Dean Emeritus John Knauss during her 2006 visit. 
Forty years later, Hong at the desk in Watkins where it all began
A Homecoming and a Full Circle
In the fall of 2023, after months of planning, Hong, now 79, returned once more to GSO and URI. Her son, Haidong Weng, who had stayed in China during her graduate school days, accompanied her. They enjoyed sightseeing along the shore, visiting old haunts, meeting new GSO international students, and spending time with the friends who had been like family. Hong gave a seminar illustrating her long career path and the growth of marine science at Xiamen University. Two members of her Ph.D. committee, GSO Professors Michael Pilson and Jim Quinn, attended the talk.
Hong also seized the opportunity to forge new URI connections, meeting with URI President Marc Parlange to discuss international programs and GSO Dean Paula Bontempi to learn about the newest projects at her alma mater. She also met with URI Marine Affairs Professor Richard Burroughs, who has been to Xiamen University several times to teach courses, and new faculty in the Department of Marine Affairs.
Hong and one of GSO’s newest faculty members, Hongjie Wang, had never met, but enjoyed having several days together to build and strengthen a friendship. They have a very special connection. Wang’s advisor for her masters degree was Xiamen University Professor Minhan Dai, and his advisor at for his degree at Xiamen University was Hong, making her Wang’s “academic grandmother.” Wang noted “Forty years ago, Huasheng Hong came here to study; now, forty years later, I am here to give back what she once received.”
Though retired, Hong remains an active ocean science leader, serving as Honorary Director of Xiamen University’s State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science and Chief Scientist of the Coastal and Ocean Management Institute.
Forty years ago, Huasheng Hong came here to study; now, forty years later, I am here to give back what she once received.Assistant Professor Hongjie Wang
What started with one person arriving alone at the Narragansett Bay Campus with a dream is now a full circle of collaborators and friends across continents and generations, and many dreams fulfilled.