September 10, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 144 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page S5391]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO DR. BRUCE CORLISS

 Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Madam President, today I wish to honor the 
career of one of Rhode Island's ocean and coastal experts, Dr. Bruce 
Corliss. Dr. Corliss has served as dean of the University of Rhode 
Island's Graduate School of Oceanography since 2012. In March, Dean 
Corliss announced he would be leaving URI GSO early next year.
  Dean Corliss started at URI GSO as a graduate student. He completed 
both his M.A. and Ph.D. in oceanography at URI. He then completed 
postdoctoral work at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and served as 
a scientist at WHOI until joining Duke University as a professor in 
1984, ultimately becoming director of the Duke University/University of 
North Carolina Oceanographic Consortium. Dr. Corliss served as chief 
scientist on more than a dozen oceanographic research cruises and has 
published over 60 research papers.
  In 2012, Dr. Corliss heard the call of the Ocean State and returned 
to his alma mater as dean. Under his leadership, URI GSO expanded its 
oceanographic and coastal research programs and is currently 
revitalizing its Narragansett campus; NOAA selected the university to 
lead a multi-university Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute; and 
last summer, URI GSO was awarded a new NSF research vessel, to be named 
the R/V Resolution. The vessel will replace the R/V Endeavor, which URI 
GSO has operated for 40 years.
  Dean Corliss will leave URI GSO having reaffirmed its place as one of 
the world's preeminent ocean research institutions. His work will be 
reflected in the new research vessel on GSO's docks, in new buildings 
and labs that will house the next generation of marine researchers, and 
in new depths of understanding we will reach through the Ocean 
Exploration Cooperative Institute.
  Dean Corliss has been a friend and an ally in the fight to protect 
and preserve our oceans and coasts. URI GSO has greatly benefited from 
his scientific expertise, leadership, and support for ocean research. 
On behalf of the Ocean State, I recognize and salute him on an 
impressive career and a lasting legacy at the University of Rhode 
Island.

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