Remembering John A. Knauss: Oceanographer, Visionary, and BIOS Trustee

It is with sadness that BIOS announces the death of oceanographer John A. Knauss, 90, who served the Institute for 10 years as a board member and later as a trustee until 2005. Knauss, whose research and advocacy helped promote marine science, policy, management, and ongoing study of the world’s oceans, was founding Dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island. There, current BIOS trustee John Farrington recalls Knauss wore many hats with grace and dedication. Knauss was Farrington’s professor of a physical oceanography course in 1968, the same year he was part of a Presidential-Congressional Commission working on the influential report “Our Nation and the Sea.” “He often would arrive directly from the airport, having been at a Commission meeting in Washington, DC, and teach the class,” Farrington said. “He set a high standard as dean and professor that many, including me, have striven to achieve over the years.”  We join the University of Rhode Island in commemorating this loss.