Warren E. Witzell, 1953-1987

Warren Edward "Whitey" Witzell was born July 2, 1923, in Wildwood, New Jersey.

Whitey joined the Institution staff in 1946 as a fireman in the heating plant and soon served as second assistant engineer aboard the Research Vessel Mentor. The temporary positions turned into a full-time position as night janitor in August 1951. In February 1952 Whitey transferred to the Institution's technical staff. He was appointed a Research Associate in 1963 and Research Specialist in 1974.

In his capacity as Research Associate, he was involved in the electro-mechanical design of towed underwater "fish" and the design of mechanical handling gear for shipboard use. One of his major contributions to the expansion of tools created for oceanography at that time was his development of the Precision Graphic Recorder (PGR), a sophisticated echo-sounder, which was used to search for the lost U.S. nuclear submarine Thresher. He was also trained to handle and detonate explosives used for seismic research.

In 1974 Whitey was promoted to Research Specialist in charge of the Geology and Geophysics Department's Electro-Mechanical Shop, supervising all work for the department as well as other service work for the Institution. The position required extensive travel throughout the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe, the Red Sea and passage through the Suez Canal. During his 38 years at the Institution he acquired four patents and was the author or co-author of numerous technical reports and scientific publications. Whitey retired in 1987 but remained active at the Institution until 1998, using his electronics engineering expertise for various projects including the Barents Sea Polar Front Experiment in the early 1990s.

Through the years colleagues noted Whitey's ability to build experimental devices on a shoestring, calling him "an accomplished scavenger who uses his vast knowledge of the whereabouts of various old instruments to put together useful gear at a tiny fraction of the cost that should have been budgeted." His engineering skills and expertise, professionalism and competence were noted and valued by the many scientists and fellow engineers with whom he worked.