Previous Honorary Members
R G Williams OBE
Former Secretary of the National Institute of Oceanography at Wormley and former Treasurer of the Challenger Society for Marine Science from 1956 - 1973. Sadly, Ray died in January of 2016 aged 92.
Ray Williams played a key role in managing the Institute’s finances and most notable in managing the funding the construction of the new (1962) RRS Discovery.
1987
- Prof RI Currie
1977
- Commander WJ Copenhagen
1973
- Sir George Edward Raven Deacon FRS 1906-1984 (Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 1985 vol 31 pp 111-142)
- Dr Cyril Lucas, biography
- Sir Frederick Stratten Russell FRS 1897-1984 (Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 1986 vol 32 pp 461-493)
1966
- JN Carruthers
1964
- HO Bull
1958
- Eric Henry Edwardes Havelock CB, CBE, OBE, FRSE
1957
- Joseph Proudman FRS 1888-1975 (Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 1976 vol 22 pp 319-333)
1951
- William Thomas Calman FRS 1871-1952 (Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society 1952-1953 vol 8 pp 355-372) HU Sverdrup
1950
- GP Bidder
1948
- Dr HR Mill
- Mr HG Maurice
1939
- Edgar Johnson Allen FRS 1866-1942 (Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society 1942-1944 vol 4 pp 357-367)
- HB Bigelow, biography
- E le Danois
- G Gilson
- B Helland-Hansen
- O Pettersson
- G Schott
1929
- Schmidt
- Swire (last surviving member of officers and scientific staff of HMS Challenger)
1923
- Dr Johan Hjort FRS 1869-1948 (Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society 1950-1951 vol 7 pp 167-181)
1915
- Prof Georg Ossian Sars
1910
- H.S.H. The Prince of Monaco
1905
- Prof Dr Karl Brandt
- Prof Dr Carl Chun
- Prof Max Wilhelm Carl Weber FRS 1852-1937 (Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society 1936-1938 vol 2 pp 347-355)
Latest News
Challenger Society Council Position Vacancy
The Challenger Society for Marine Science (CSMS) are pleased to announce an exciting opportunity to support the next generation of ocean scientists and innovators. CSMS are looking for a new Council member to fill the Student Travel Awards and Stepping Stones Portfolio. The successful applicant will administer the travel and research grants available for Early Career Researchers.
The role involves:
- Receiving applications for the two schemes and responding to applicant inquiries
- Soliciting and compiling input from the rest of the Council for assessing the applications
- Communicating with successful and unsuccessful applicants for the two schemes
- Working with the Honorary Treasurer on allocating funds to successful applicants
- Following up with award winners on their reporting requirements
- Attending Council meetings four times a year (in person or online) and contributing to discussions and decision making for CSMS
The usual term for Council members is three years.
For more information about the CSMS Council, please follow this link: https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/The_Council
For more information about our Early Career Researcher grants and awards, please follow this link:
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Stepping_Stones
and
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Travel_awards
If you are interested in applying or have any questions regarding the role, please contact kathen@bas.ac.uk
NOC Association (NOCA) AGM 2025
The 14th AGM of the NOC Association will be held on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th May 2025. This free, on-line event will take place on Zoom, across two consecutive mornings, each starting at 10:00 and ending at 12:30. The agenda will focus on national capability (NC) science, ships, and autonomous vehicles, and how the community can engage. There will be an update on AtlantiS and on the new marine science scoping group. All are warmly welcome to join.
To participate, please complete your registration here.
For enquiries: Jackie Pearson, Secretary to NOCA: jfpea@noc.ac.uk
Townhall on UK Arctic Ocean contribution to International Polar Year 32/33
The Arctic is one of the most rapidly-changing regions on our planet, with impacts on global sea-level rise, changes to our climate and weather patterns, and threats to our shared biodiversity and ecosystem services. With the international community rapidly mobilising towards the International Polar Year 32/33, and with new international programmes and initiatives now being shaped, it is timely for the UK Ocean Science community to come together and articulate what its unique offerings could be to Arctic research and technology.
This hybrid 2-day meeting, to be held at NOC Southampton, is intended to start this process. Recognising the Arctic Oceans role in global Earth and Human systems, anticipated outcomes include a high-level shaping of what the UK Arctic Ocean community would like to achieve over the course of the IPY, stimulation of new collaborations and proposals for grand Arctic challenges and a baseline from which wider integration with terrestrial, atmospheric and cryosphere communities, both in the UK and overseas, can be built. Discussions will continue in diverse forums, including the UK Arctic Science Meeting in September and at Challenger 2026.
This action is supported by the UK Arctic Office and UK Arctic and Antarctic Partnership
Further details and meeting registration link will be circulated in April together with a questionnaire to help shape the agenda and discussion
In the meantime…SAVE THE DATE