Larry P. Atkinson 1941 – 2020

Larry P. Atkinson
1941 – 2020

Dr. Larry Atkinson, the inaugural Chair of the OOI Facility Board (OOIFB), died on December 22, 2020.  Larry served as the OOIFB Chair from May 2017 until November 2019 and Past-Chair since that time.  He worked to expand scientific and public awareness of OOI. Larry promoted inclusiveness and was an advocate for the science community who used OOI data. As OOIFB Chair, Larry had a particular focus on students and early career scientists, and he worked to highlight their use of OOI.

Larry generously served the oceanographic community for more than five decades by sharing his time, knowledge, and leadership to support ocean initiatives. He was an Eminent Scholar Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences in the Department of Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and the Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography at Old Dominion University. 

In May 2020, the OOI Facility Board (OOIFB) along with representatives of the National Science Foundation founded the Larry P. Atkinson Travel Fellowship in recognition of his outstanding leadership as the Inaugural Chair of the OOIFB.

We will greatly miss Larry’s wisdom, leadership, and kindness.  His obituary is available here.