Biographical Description for The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History with Evan Forde

PERSON Forde, Evan , 1952- Alternative Names: Forde, Evan , 1952-

Life Dates: May 11, 1952-

Place of Birth: Miami, Florida Residence:

Occupations: Oceanographer Biographical Note

Oceanographer Evan B. Forde was born on May 11, 1952 in Miami, Florida. His mother, Margaret Forde, was an elementary school teacher; his father, Samuel Forde, a science teacher. By the time he was in third grade, Forde already had a telescope, microscope and chemistry set. After attending Miami-Dade Public Schools and graduating from Miami Carol City High School in 1970, Forde enrolled in Columbia University and graduated from there with his B.S. degree in with a specialty in in 1974. He was awarded a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fellowship to attend graduate school at Columbia University. While there, Forde studied at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and received his M.S. degree in and geophysics in 1976.

During the summer of 1973, Forde began to work at NOAA under a student appointment as a scientific technician. In 1976, he was assigned to the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) in the Marine Geology and Geophysics Division. He became the first African American oceanographer to conduct a research mission aboard a submersible craft when completed a mission in the Nekton Gamma in 1979. Forde subsequently completed submersible dive expeditions on Alvin in 1980 and Johnson Sea Link in 1981. He then worked in the Ocean Chemistry Division from 1982 until 1998 when he became a researcher in AOML’s Satellite Remote Sensing Group. In 2005, Forde joined the Computer Services and Networking Division.

Forde has also worked extensively in the area of science education. He developed and taught graduate level courses on tropical for the University of Miami’s INSTAR program for seven years. He also created and taught an oceanography course for middle-school students in South Florida called “Oceanographic Curriculum Empowering Achievement in Natural Sciences” (OCEANS), which has been featured in nationally distributed periodicals. Forde authored the “Science Corner” in Ebony, Jr. magazine for three years, and created a “Severe Weather Poster” for NOAA that was distributed nationally to 50,000 teachers and is seen daily by an estimated 8,000,000 students per day. He has spoken to nearly 40,000 Miami-Dade students during career days and other school presentations.

Forde has received career and community awards that include being named NOAA’s Environmental Research Laboratories EEO Outstanding Employee, South Florida’s Federal Employee of the Year in the Service to the Community category, and NOAA Research Employee of the Year. He was honored with a Congressional Commendation Medal in 2008. In 2009, Forde had days named in his honor by both the City of North Miami and Miami- Dade County, Florida. In 2010, the Miami-Dade County School Board issued a proclamation honoring his contributions to education. Forde also received the NOAA Administrator Award from Under Secretary of Commerce 2011.

Evan B. Forde was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on June 3, 2013.

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Forde, Bernadette [SIBLINGOF] Sister

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Forde, Kevin [SIBLINGOF] Brother

Forde, Margaret [CHILDOF] Mother

Forde, Samuel [CHILDOF] Father

Columbia University [STUDENTOF] [from ? to 1976-05] M.S.

Columbia University [STUDENTOF] [from ? to 1974-05] B.A.

Miami Carol City Senior High [STUDENTOF] [from ? to 1970]

NOAA Center in Atmospheric Sciences [EMPLOYEEOF] [from 1973 to ?]

Oceanographer

AOML [EMPLOYEEOF] [from 1982 to ?] Principal Investigator, Pacific Polymetallic Sulfides Research Project