Marie Poland Fish
Marie "Bobbie" Dennis Poland Fish was an American oceanographer and marine biologist best-known for her bioacoustics research. Her research on underwater sound detection allowed the United States Navy to distinguish enemy submarines from wildlife. The United States Navy awarded her its highest civilian award, the Distinguished Service Medal, in 1966 to recognize her contributions during her twenty-two years leading the "Underwater Sound of Biological Origin" project for the Office of Naval Research. She also founded the Narragansett Marine Laboratory with her husband. It is now the University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography.
Fish was born in Paterson, New Jersey and graduated from Smith College before earning a PhD from the University of Rhode Island. She moved with her husband, to follow his career, while continuing to advance her own career. Before working for the Office of Naval Research, she worked for the United States Bureau of Fisheries, Buffalo Museum of Science, New York State Conservation Department, University of Rhode Island, United States National Museum, Pacific Oceanic Biology Project, and the State of Rhode Island in various roles as scientist, researcher, investigator, instructor, and curator. She was a prolific author, writing over 200 articles in academic journals and popular magazines, including a newspaper column on popular science that she wrote with her husband from 1936-1939, the only time they collaborated professionally.
The Fish family endowed , an annual public lecture on oceanography that began in 2002.
