Fred Noel Spiess, a deep-sea ocean explorer and inventor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD, died Sept. 8 from cancer. He was 86 years old.
Spiess worked for Scripps Oceanography since 1952 and was noted for designing and building instruments, such as the Floating Instrument Platform (FLIP), which is a 355-foot-long buoy used to conduct oceanographic research.
“On the Scripps campus he will be celebrated as someone who made the type of pivotal contributions that made this institution a world leader in its first 100 years,” Charles Kennel, director of Scripps, said of Spiess in a prepared release. “Everyone at Scripps will miss his academic eminence, his personal integrity and his friendly demeanor and smiling face.”
In 1965, Spiess received the Franklin Institute’s Wetherill Medal for his role in the development of FLIP and was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1985 for significant breakthroughs in ocean engineering.
He was also awarded the Newcomb Cleveland Prize in 1980 for the year’s outstanding paper published in science. In 1990 he received the Navy Distinguished Service Award for leadership in ocean technology.
The Oceanic Engineering Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers announced Spiess as winner of the 2006 Distinguished Technical Achievement Award. His daughter was scheduled to accept the award on his behalf on Sept. 20.
A memorial celebration will be held Oct. 20 at 3 p.m. at Scripps Institution of Oceanography on the Pawka Green, located at the corner of El Feo Grande and La Jolla Shores Drive.
Spiess resided in La Jolla and was married for 60 years to the late Sarah Whitton Spiess. He is survived by five children, four sons-in-law, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Donations in his honor may be made to one of his favorite charities, such as the Maritime Museum of San Diego, America’s Finest City Dixieland Jazz Society, or the Doris A. Howell Service at the UCSD Medical Center.