Gonzalez, Frank I.
Frank I. Gonzalez
Dr. Frank I. González is a physical oceanographer specializing in tsunamis and hazardous ocean waves. Much of his work addressed hazard mitigation and prevention. He spent most of his career at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as the Director of the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL). He also worked at the NOAA Center for Tsunami Research and taught at the University of Washington.
“Everybody is dedicated here, so there is no question that our work makes a difference.” Frank González, 2005.
González, F. I., Bernard, E. N., Meinig, C., Eble, M. C., Mofjeld, H. O., & Stalin, S. (2005). The NTHMP tsunameter network. Natural Hazards, 35, 25-39.
González, F. I., Milburn, H. M., Bernard, E. N., & Newman, J. C. (1998, January). Deep-ocean assessment and reporting of tsunamis (DART): Brief overview and status report. In Proceedings of the international workshop on tsunami disaster mitigation (Vol. 19, p. 2). Tokyo, Japan: NOAA.
Titov, V. V., González, F. I., Bernard, E. N., Eble, M. C., Mofjeld, H. O., Newman, J. C., & Venturato, A. J. (2005). Real-time tsunami forecasting: Challenges and solutions. Natural Hazards, 35, 35-41.
Meinig, C., Stalin, S. E., Nakamura, A. I., González, F., & Milburn, H. B. (2005, September). Technology developments in real-time tsunami measuring, monitoring, and forecasting. In Proceedings of OCEANS 2005 MTS/IEEE (pp. 1673-1679). IEEE.
Frank I. González was born in 1939 to Frank González Sr., a sheet metal worker, and Catherine Sanchez González, a piece worker in a box factory. He grew up in San Antonio, Texas, with his parents, younger brother, and sister. Dr. González’s educational opportunities were very limited and extremely expensive in San Antonio. Thus, after completing high school in 1957, he enlisted in the Marine Corps for three years.
Dr. González was stationed at a base in Guantanamo Bay. Marines were not allowed to leave the base due to poor relations with Cuba, so the soldiers turned to recreational water sports such as snorkeling and scuba diving for entertainment. By participating in these sports, Dr. González became fascinated with the ocean. Although he did not know it at the time, he would turn his fascination with the sea into a career.
After his stint with the Marine Corps, Dr. González returned to San Antonio and attended St. Mary’s University, where he studied Physics. He says he was “heavy into the hard sciences” but eventually grew tired of working with things he could not touch (2005). Soon after, he decided to pursue another course of work in physical oceanography. Through this scientific study, Dr. González was able to apply his expertise in physics to the ocean, and the rest is history.
Dr. González accepted a research assistantship with the Department of Oceanography at the University of Hawaii, where he received a master’s degree in 1971 for his study of tropical estuarine physics. In 1975, he completed his Ph.D. in long ocean wave theory from the University of Hawaii.
In 1977, Dr. González accepted a position with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) in Seattle, Washington, where his research focused on observing and understanding hazardous ocean waves of all types. He was the Leader and Chief Scientist of the PMEL Tsunami Research Program. He succeeded in establishing the first deep-sea tsunami-monitoring network on the bottom of the northeastern portion of the Pacific Ocean. PMEL staff work with state governments and state scientists to develop observational systems and Tsunami Forecast systems to reduce the hazards that tsunamis pose to people who live on the coast. In addition to his domestic work, Dr. González extended his expertise overseas.
According to González, scientists are governed in large part by the research that they do, the papers they publish, and the leadership responsibilities that they take on. These are all factors that have led to his promotions throughout the years.
In 1984, he received NOAA’s highest award for outstanding research–the NOAA Administrator’s Award–for his work on hazardous ocean waves. He was integral to the field surveys after the tsunamis devastated Nicaragua, Indonesia, and Japan in the 1990s. In 2006, Dr. González was the founding Director of the NOAA Center for Tsunami Research. There, his work focused on the development of the NOAA Tsunami Forecast System, as well as the creation of maps for member States of the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program. Later in his career, Dr. González was an affiliate Professor at the University of Washington.
Dr. González is delighted that he contributed to oceanic science advancement and that his work was always interesting and exciting. He says, “You’re always learning, so that’s been good” (2005). Dr. González is proud that PMEL won a NOAA gold medal for tsunami research. He also says that his experience with Seasat was fascinating. Seasat was the first satellite designed for remote sensing of the Earth’s oceans and housed the first space-borne synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Dr. González noted his research team at NOAA was incredibly committed, “Everybody here is dedicated, so there is no question that our work makes a difference” (2005). He worked in the environmental field because his research team tasks are essential. They are part of an effort to save property and lives, which he believes is worthwhile.
Dr. González believes that his master’s and Ph.D. advisors were his mentors and helped him achieve many career milestones. His mentors shaped his scientific and life philosophies.
Dr. González was a mentor to people on his teams. He strove to hire women and minorities on his research team and advised them on topics ranging from life issues to career strategies. He is proud of his relationship with his team, which allows him to be both a mentor and a supervisor. He makes it a point to give his employees challenging work and rewards them generously for their hard work and effort. Dr. González also supports diversity through his membership in the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS).
NOAA Center for Tsunami Research - Frank González. (2023). Noaa.gov. https://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/González/
Taylor, Dorceta (Ed.). 2005. The Paths We Thread: Profiles of the Careers of Minority Environmental Professionals. Minority Environmental Leadership Development Initiative, University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment.
Tsunami Science and Preparedness :: Faculty and Staff :: Frank I. González, Ph.D. (2023). Noaa.gov. https://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/tsu400/faculty/González.html