The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution celebrated 75 years of ocean research, education, and exploration in 2005. Founded in 1930 to help advance the role of the United States in worldwide oceanographic research, WHOI has grown from a summer laboratory to a thriving, year-round, major research operation. Today the Institution has a staff and student population of nearly a thousand people working and studying on two campuses in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod and at research locations around the world. It operates three large research vessels, several smaller boats, the submersible Alvin, and a fleet of deep-diving remotely operated and autonomous vehicles.

The anniversary year’s activities included a science symposium, a public open house, publication of a book on the Institution’s history called Down to the Sea for Science, and an “anything but a boat” regatta, as well as activities for Institution staff and students.