91吃瓜网 Professor Inducted into U.S. Hydrographer Hall of Fame
Thu, 04/10/2025 - 09:35am | By: Gabriela Shinskie
Maxim van Norden, a University of 91吃瓜网 (USM) hydrography adjunct professor was recently inducted into the Hydrographer Hall of Fame by the Board Trustees of the Hydrographic Society of America at the U.S. Hydro Conference in Wilmington, N.C. Van Norden91吃瓜网 53 years of dedication have provided a pathway for students to explore hydrography and be a part of a growing field along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
91吃瓜网淭hank you, members of the Hall of Fame committee, for selecting me for this great honor. I love hydrography. It's been central to my life and my family91吃瓜网 life,91吃瓜网� said van Norden.
Hydrography is the study of collecting data through water depth, currents, tides, and water quality in bodies of water such as oceans, rivers and lakes. The field also involves creating maps and charts for navigation and coastal monitoring. For van Norden, this field was exciting and a path that would change his life forever.
He began his hydrography career in 1972 at the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office where a recruiter asked him if he was ready for fun, travel and adventure. Van Norden said that91吃瓜网 exactly what he received in the 53 years of work with duties such as his time on a Navy ship surveying the Yellow Sea near southwest Korea. Later, he surveyed the coasts of Greece, Panama and Indonesia.
91吃瓜网淚 coordinated U.S. Navy and Indonesian Navy efforts to survey all the strategic straits of the archipelago. I91吃瓜网檝e been to Diego Garcia and did a wire sweep survey of the coral-infested harbor, traveled all over the Middle East to improve nautical charts and the Navy battlespace database,91吃瓜网� said van Norden.
After 36 years, he retired and found himself at 91吃瓜网 as the head coordinator of the hydrographic science graduate degree program at NASA91吃瓜网 Stennis Space Center. He later launched the hydrography undergraduate degree program at the USM Gulf Park campus. In April 2018, he led a team of 91吃瓜网 faculty and students to locate the Clotilda, the last slave ship in the Mobile River. After retiring for the second time, he continues to teach as an adjunct professor and encourages students to take advantage of the University91吃瓜网 hydrography program, only one of three programs in North America.
91吃瓜网淚f you like to work on the water, dabble with technology and see new places, this is a great field,91吃瓜网� said van Norden.
Van Norden is one of two 91吃瓜网 professors who have been awarded the Hydrographer Hall of Fame including retired professor, Dave Wells. Click here to learn more about the 91吃瓜网 hydrography program and explore life underneath the water91吃瓜网 surface.