Background
Spiess, Fred Noel was born on December 25, 1919 in Oakland, California, United States. Son of Fred Henry and Elva Josephine (Monck).
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Fred Noel Spiess
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Fred Noel Spiess, American oceanographer, educator. Decorated Silver Star medal, Bronze Star medal; recipient John Price Wetherill medal Franklin Institute, 1965; Compass Distinguished Scientist award Marine Technological Society, 1971; Robert Dexter Conrad award United States Secretary of Navy, 1974, Navy Distinguished Public Service award, 1990; Newcomb Cleveland prize American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1981.
Education
Bachelor of Arts California, Berkeley, 1941. Doctor of Philosophy, University California, Berkeley, 1951. Master of Science, Harvard University, 1946.
Career
He received an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a master"s degree from Harvard University. He received his doctorate in physics from University of California Berkeley in 1951. Spiess joined the Marine Physical Laboratory at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1952 and served as director of the laboratory from 1958 to 1980.
He served as director of the Scripps Institution from 1964 to 1965.
In the early 1960s, Spiess helped develop (Floating Instrument Platform), a floating laboratory. is a 355-foot manned research vessel and floating instrument platform. FLIP is towed out to sea and one end is submerged.
Most of its hull is under water, but the crew and instruments are housed in a 55-foot-long tip that remains above the surface of the ocean. FLIP has been used to study the acoustics of whales and other marine mammals, heat exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere, and the effects of seismic waves on water.
Spiess collaborated with Fred Fisher and Phillip Rudnick in development of the vessel.
Spiess died in San Diego, California, of cancer.
Achievements
Membership
Captain United States Naval Reserve, 1941-1979. Fellow Acoustical Society of America (Pioneers of Underwater Acoustics medal 1985), American Geophysical Union (Maurice Ewing award 1983), Marine Technology Society (Lockheed award 1985). Member National Academy Engineering, Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi.
Connections
Son of; married Sarah Scott Whitton, July 25, 1942 (deceased September 2002). Children: Katherine Spiess Dallaire, Mary Elizabeth Spiess DeJong, John Morgen Frederick, Helen Spiess Shamble, Margaret Josephine Deligio-Spiess.
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Born
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Died
September 8, 2006 (aged 86) -
Nationality
American
Awards
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Maurice Ewing Medal; John Price Wetherill Medal
The Maurice Ewing Medal is awarded by the American Geophysical Union for 'significant original contributions to the understanding of physical, geophysical, and geological processes in the ocean; to those who advance oceanographic engineering, technology, and instrumentation; and to those who perform outstanding service to the marine sciences'.The Maurice Ewing Medal is awarded by the American Geophysical Union for 'significant original contributions to the understanding of physical, geophysical, and geological processes in the ocean; to those who advance oceanographic engineering, technology, and instrumentation; and to those who perform outstanding service to the marine sciences'.