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50 MTR November 2005 Webb Honored Photo credit: Clayton Jones, Webb Research Corporation Douglas C. Webb, of Webb Research Corporation (Falmouth, Mass.) received two awards honoring his contributions to ocean research technology. During the MTS/IEEE (Marine Technology Society/Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) Oceans 2005 conference in Washington, D.C., Webb received the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society's 2005 Distinguished Technical Achievement Award. The award states "Through his technical innovation, from drifting floats to underwater gliders, Mr. Webb is changing the way that we observe the oceans." The second honor came at Rutgers University Coastal Ocean Observation Lab in New Brunswick, N.J. A classroom at the facility was named the Webb Room in recogni- tion of "a lifetime of achievement providing future generations with new tools to explore and understand the world's oceans." Webb, who was born in Canada in 1929, received his Masters degree in electrical engineering in 1954 from Manchester University in England. With his wife, Shirley, he moved to Falmouth in 1962 to join the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). Webb retired from WHOI in 1982 as a Senior Research Specialist. During his career he authored or co-authored 45 scientific publications and participated in more than 50 research cruises. In 1988, Webb was a co-recipient of the Henry Bryant Bigelow Award in Oceanography, awarded by WHOI, in recognition of development of SOFAR, a technolo- gy used to map deep ocean currents. Webb founded Webb Research Corporation (WRC) in 1982. He remains active in managing the com- pany, which employs 22 and is locat- ed in the Falmouth Technology Park. WRC develops and manufactures specialized instruments used in ocean research, and serves customers in 17 nations. Scripps Marine Ecologist Honored Paul Dayton, professor of oceanog- raphy at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, has been selected as winner of the 2004 NOGI Award, science category, by the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences (AUAS). The NOGI (New Orleans Grand Isle) Award dates back to the 1950s, when it was initially presented to world-class spearfishing champions. In the 1960s, the award began to be presented to top achievers in the underwater world by the Underwater Society of America. Each year it is presented to distinguished divers in the categories of arts, science, sports/education and distinguished service. Past winners of the NOGI Award include diving luminaries Jacques Cousteau, Robert Ballard and Sylvia Earle, as well as Scripps diving officer emeritus, James R. Stewart. A biological oceanographer in the Integrative Oceanography Division at Scripps, Dayton's research focuses on coastal and estuarine habitats, includ- ing seafloor (benthic) and kelp com- munities, as well as global fisheries. He studies California kelp communi- ties, Antarctic benthic communities and the impacts of overfishing on marine ecosystems. Yoder to WHOI Post James Yoder, a professor of oceanog- raphy and former associate dean at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, has been chosen Vice President for Academic Programs and Dean at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). Yoder was elected at the Board of Trustees meet- ing at the Institution October 14 and will assume his new duties November 28. A biological oceanographer, Yoder is well known in the oceanographic research community, having served as a researcher, professor and Director of the Division of Ocean Sciences at the National Science Foundation in Washington, DC. He has worked at NASA headquar- ters, been a member of numerous national and international commit- people & companies MTR#3 (49-64).qxd 11/14/2005 11:14 AM Page 50
