Fred Spiess
Encyclopedia
Dr. Fred Noel Spiess was an oceanographer and marine explorer who helped create the FLIP
floating laboratory.
Spiess was born in Oakland, California
. 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 UC Berkeley in 1951.
Spiess was awarded the John Price Wetherill Medal in 1965 and the Maurice Ewing Medal
in 1985.
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.
(Floating Instrument Platform), a floating laboratory.
R/P FLIP
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.
R/P FLIP
RP FLIP is an open ocean research vessel owned by the Office of Naval Research and operated by the Marine Physical Laboratory of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography...
floating laboratory.
Spiess was born in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. He received an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
and a master's degree from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He received his doctorate in physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
from UC Berkeley in 1951.
Spiess was awarded the John Price Wetherill Medal in 1965 and the Maurice Ewing Medal
Maurice Ewing 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...
in 1985.
Spiess joined the Marine Physical Laboratory at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, is one of the oldest and largest centers for ocean and earth science research, graduate training, and public service in the world...
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.
R/P FLIP
In the early 1960s, Spiess helped develop R/P FLIPR/P FLIP
RP FLIP is an open ocean research vessel owned by the Office of Naval Research and operated by the Marine Physical Laboratory of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography...
(Floating Instrument Platform), a floating laboratory.
R/P FLIP
R/P FLIP
RP FLIP is an open ocean research vessel owned by the Office of Naval Research and operated by the Marine Physical Laboratory of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography...
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
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
.
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.