Evan Forde
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Evan B. Forde is an American
oceanographer Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of top ...
at the Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) with the
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, charting the seas, conducting deep-sea exploration ...
(NOAA). He was the first African-American scientist to perform research in a
submersible A submersible is an underwater vehicle which needs to be transported and supported by a larger ship, watercraft or dock, platform. This distinguishes submersibles from submarines, which are self-supporting and capable of prolonged independent ope ...
. Forde is widely considered an expert on the formation of
submarine canyon A submarine canyon is a steep-sided valley cut into the seabed of the continental slope, sometimes extending well onto the continental shelf, having nearly vertical walls, and occasionally having canyon wall heights of up to , from canyon flo ...
s and his recent research uses satellite sensors to analyze atmospheric conditions related to
hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...
formation.


Education

Forde was born in
Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, and received his primary education in the
Miami-Dade County public schools Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is the public school district serving Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida. Founded in 1885, it is the largest school district in Florida, the largest in the South ...
. He received his
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
(B.A.) degree in
Geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...
with an oceanography specialty in 1974 followed by his
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
(M.A.) degree in
marine geology Marine geology or geological oceanography is the study of the history and structure of the ocean floor. It involves geophysical, Geochemistry, geochemical, Sedimentology, sedimentological and paleontological investigations of the ocean floor and ...
and
geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and Physical property, properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct i ...
from
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
. Forde became a researcher in the Marine Geology and Geophysics laboratory at the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...
's (NOAA)
Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory The Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), a federal research laboratory, is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), located in Miami in the Unit ...
(AOML) while an undergraduate at Columbia during the summer of 1973. Forde has stated that French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau was a large inspiration in his love of oceanography.


Research

After earning his M.A., Forde worked at NOAA AOML in Miami mapping the Atlantic sea floor. In 1979, Forde became the first
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
oceanographer to conduct a research mission aboard a submersible craft when he dove in the Nekton Gamma. He subsequently completed submersible dive expeditions in
Alvin ''Alvin'' (DSV-2) is a crewed deep-ocean research submersible owned by the United States Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) of Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The original vehicle was built by General Mills' Electro ...
in 1980 and the
Johnson Sea Link ''Johnson Sea Link'' was a type of deep-sea scientific research submersible built by Edwin Albert Link. Link built the first submersible, ''Johnson Sea Link I'', in 1971 at the request of his friend Seward Johnson, founder of the Harbor Branch ...
in 1981. One of his most significant discoveries was the submarine sediment slide off the coast of
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, which caused New Jersey
offshore drilling Offshore drilling is a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled below the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently extract petroleum that lies in rock formations beneath the seabed. Most commonly, the ter ...
to stop in 1980. Soon after, Forde begun to research hydrothermal plumes and satellite-tracking of hurricanes to improve hurricane forecasting and intensity prediction models. This is still a large part of his current research, and it has expanded to include threat mitigation and training exercises for hurricane response. He has additionally conducted research on the effects that dust storms from Africa have on the formation of
Atlantic basin The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
hurricanes. Utilizing his background in classical Marine Geology techniques, Forde became a recognized authority on the formation, evolution, and
sedimentary Sedimentary rocks are types of rock formed by the cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or deposited at Earth's surface. Sedime ...
processes of east coast U.S. submarine canyons. Additional scientific research efforts by Forde have included studies of gravity-induced mass sediment movements on continental slopes, 3-dimensional mapping of hydrothermal plumes, and the study of ocean-atmosphere exchange of anthropogenic
carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...
.


Leadership and outreach

Forde has also worked extensively in the area of
science education Science education is the teaching and learning of science to school children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education includes work in science content, science process (the scientific method), some ...
. He authored science experiments in multiple children's magazines, including "Science Corner" in Ebony Jr!, with custom-made experiments for several years, and created a Severe Weather Poster for NOAA that was distributed nationally to 50,000 teachers by the
National Science Teachers Association The National Science Teaching Association (NSTA), founded in 1944 (as the National Science Teachers Association) and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, is an association of science teachers in the United States and is the largest organization ...
. He has spoken to more than 40,000 school children through presentations about his oceanographic and academic careers. Forde created and taught a graduate level tropical
meteorology Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agricultur ...
course for the University of Miami's INSTAR program for seven years, and also created and teaches an oceanography course for middle school students called Oceanographic Curriculum Empowering Achievement in Natural Sciences (OCEANS). Forde has been the subject of three museum exhibits, and has been featured in numerous periodical articles, text books and many other publications on prominent African American scientists. In addition to his scientific career, Evan Forde has served as a PTA President, a church trustee, Scoutmaster, youth basketball coach, church webmaster, Sunday School and youth ministry teacher, neighborhood Crime Watch chairman and in numerous other roles that have fostered youth and improved his community. He has initiated programs to combat community food scarcity and actively supports NOAA's Equal Opportunity Employment (EEO) initiatives.


Awards and recognitions

In 2001, Forde was named NOAA Research Employee of the Year. In 2008, he was recognized as South Florida's Federal Employee of the Year in the Service to the Community Category, along with a Congressional Commendation. "Evan B. Forde" days were celebrated in the City of North Miami on February 10, 2009, and Miami-Dade County on April 21, 2009. In 2011, he also received the NOAA Administrator's (Under Secretary of Commerce) Award for outstanding communication of NOAA science. Additionally, Forde has been the recipient of a host of career and community awards that include being named NOAA's Environmental Research Laboratories EEO Outstanding Employee.


References


External links


Recorded conference presentation

HistoryMakers video interviews


{{DEFAULTSORT:Forde, Evan 1952 births Living people American oceanographers National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration personnel Scientists from Miami 21st-century African-American scientists Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics 20th-century African-American academics 20th-century American academics