Fritz Schott, member of the CLIVAR/GOOS Indian Ocean Panel, died on 30 April 2008. Fritz had been fighting leukemia for about a year, during which he maintained a positive attitude.
Fritz was awarded a Ph.D. in Oceanography from the Institut für Meereskunde at the University of Kiel in 1964, where he returned in 1968 to pursue a very successful academic career in the department of Regional Oceanography. In 1978 he moved to RSMAS (Miami), where he was Chairman of the Division of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography from 1979-1984. Fritz returned to the University of Kiel in 1987 to be a Professor, becoming Professor Emeritus in October 2004.
Fritz was an extraordinarily talented physical oceanographer with an ability to synthesize field data and model results into a compelling vision of how the oceans behave and interact in the climate system. He focused on the 'big' problems and derived significant results and insight on the dynamics and properties of the oceans. Many prestigious awards recognized his contributions to science:
* The Fridjof-Nansen Medal of the European Geophysical Society in 1997
* Fellowship of the American Geophysical Union in 1997
* Fellowship of the American Meteorological Society in 2004
* The Henry Stommel Research Award of the American Meteorological Society in 2004
* Starr Lectureship at MIT in 2005
* The Prince Albert I Medal, International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Ocean in 2005
While many see retirement as an opportunity to relax, Fritz continued to devote himself to his research, and his publications continued unabated. He was a member of the CLIVAR Atlantic Implementatio Panel from 2000 to 2003, and a member of the CLIVAR/GOOS Indian Ocean Panel since its formation in 2004. Fritz will be sorely missed by his colleages. He is survived by his wife, Inge, three sons and four grandchildren.
adapted from an obituary by Otis Brown
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