Date: 2009-11-07
You are viewing a printer friendly version. If you want to view the original release please click the link below:
Original Article: http://media-newswire.com/release_1105337.html
Distributed by: Media-Newswire.com
Published by: N/A
The Department of Oceanography is commemorating its 60th anniversary with a symposium and celebration today and Saturday (November 6 & 7) for all former students, current students, colleagues, stakeholders, faculty and staff at the College Station Hilton.
(Media-Newswire.com) - The Department of Oceanography is commemorating its 60th anniversary with a symposium and celebration today and Saturday (November 6 & 7) for all former students, current students, colleagues, stakeholders, faculty and staff at the College Station Hilton. This 60th anniversary celebration also honors the life and work of Professor Robert O. Reid, a founding member of the department who remained active on the faculty as a distinguished professor emeritus until his death in January, 2009, at age 87.
The two-day event includes presentations by faculty highlighting the department’s past, showcasing its present, and looking ahead to the future. Keynote addresses will be given by former students and a Texas A&M University Galveston faculty member who has worked with the department for more than 50 years.
Sammy Ray, professor emeritus and associate director of continuing education at Texas A&M University Galveston, will speak at 1:15 today on how the Eastern Oyster sparked the birth of the department. Les E. Shephard ’77, vice president of Energy, Security and Defense Technologies at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, will deliver an address on global challenges posed by the energy – water nexus at 9 a.m. Saturday. Former student A. D. Kirwan ’64, who is the Mary A.S. Lighthipe professor of Marine Studies in Physical Ocean Science and Engineering at the University of Delaware, will present a tribute to patriarch and explorer Bob Reid at a special anniversary luncheon on Saturday.
Reid had a long and illustrious career at Texas A&M University, joining the Department of Oceanography-Meteorology as an assistant professor in 1951. He served as Oceanography department head from 1981 to 1987. During his career, he chaired or co-chaired 138 graduate student committees. Reid was instrumental in building the oceanography and meteorology programs at Texas A&M University and in shaping their futures.
More information about the celebration is available online at http://ocean.tamu.edu/about-us/seminars/60th-annversary-celebration.