Marine Biological Hall Of Distinction: Dr. John Frederick Matthews Grassle
- ThePersaudCatalog
- Apr 25
- 6 min read
This article is part of our collection known as the Marine Hall of Distinction. In this special collection, we will discuss marine biologists who we feel have served marine biology and oceanography the most. We do this to commemorate these marine biologists and show gratitude for everything they have contributed to our oceans. Today's marine scientist is Dr. John Frederick Matthews Grassle.
Dr. John Frederick Matthews Grassle is well known for his work on deep-sea hydrothermal vents, & his involvement in the development of the Census of Marine Life, as well as the Ocean Biodiversity Information System.
In today's article, we are going to be discussing Dr. Grassle's formative years & education, his personal life & career, & finally, his accomplishments, achievements, honors, & awards. With that being said, let us plunge into today's article!
His Formative Years & Education
Dr. John Matthews Frederick Grassle was born on July 14th, 1939, to John Kendall Grassle, & Norah Iris Grassle in Cleveland, Ohio. Born to a family of 2 children, he had 1 sister, by the name of Norah Jean Bunts.
During his childhood, he gained the nickname of Fred, a name by which he was affectionately known for the rest of his life. While in Junior High School, he found himself fascinated with the underwater world, & entrenched in books about Jacques Cousteau, the marine biological pioneer. He attended Bay Village High School for his secondary education, & was a part of the graduating class of 1957.
Upon graduating from secondary school, he attended Yale University for his undergraduate degree in Zoology. During his time at Yale, he found himself working as an intern at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute; his future place of work; where he discovered his love for oceanography & marine science. He completed his undergraduate studies in 1961, before moving on to his P.h.D at Duke University. He strongly finished his education at Duke, finishing his P.h.D in zoology in 1967, with his dissertation topic being "Influence of environmental variation on species diversity in benthic communities on the Continental shelf and slope".
His Career & Personal Life
Post-graduation, he earned a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship at the University of Queensland in Australia, studying sandworms living on the sea floor.
Soon after, he joined the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute as an Associate Scientist, & began working alongside the late & great Howard Sanders studying Deep Sea biodiversity.
In his early years at the institute, he worked on a variety of things, with his earliest research discussing the diversity of deep-sea benthic megafauna, meaning megafauna that live on the sea floor. During this research, he developed the theory that the ocean floor is similar to a Rainforest in composition, in which different micro-environments allow for oceanic organisms to evolve independently of one another. This eventually led to his involvement in a biological expedition to survey the freshly discovered hydrothermal vents at the Galapagos Rift, in 1977, one of the first of its kind. During this expedition, he conducted groundbreaking research regarding these ecosystems dependence on hydrothermal vents with the help of deep-sea submersible ALVIN, & furthered knowledge on how such places are powered by chemical energy from the earth’s interior, & how they function without a drop of sun. As a result of its importance, this expedition was filmed & documented by National Geographic for their documentary “Dive to the Edge of Creation”. This study inspired him, & caused him to want to learn more about the biodiversity in oceans worldwide, & learn more about how to track it. It led to a lifelong fascination with the subject, which eventually led to the founding of the Census of Marine Life, & the creation of the Oceanic Biogeographic Information System.
He stayed with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute for 20 years, until deciding to leave the institute for Rutgers University in New Jersey in 1989. Upon joining, he was elected to lead the University Institute of Coastal & Marine Sciences, an institute that he & his wife built together to have its now illustrious marine biology program.
During his first few years at the institute, his research primarily focused on coastal continental shelf & continental slope biodiversity, & developing various kinds of oceanic mass monitoring systems. This interest in having oceanic mass monitoring & informational systems led to him proposing the idea of a census for biodiversity in oceans worldwide, which he coined “Census of the Fishes”, later to become “Census of Marine Life”, in 1996. He wrote to Jesse Ausubel of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation about the idea, who took an interest. Jointly, they organized the “Census for the Benthos Workshop”, at Rutgers Universities Coastal & Marine Science Institute, garnering much support in the process.
Finally, in 2000, he launched the Census for Marine Life, a 10-year-long, 650 million dollar, comprehensive research experiment, cataloging every animal in our ocean, past, present, & hopefully future. The project was groundbreaking, engaging over 2,700 researchers throughout its lifetime. Founded in association with the Census for Marine Life, was the Ocean Biodiversity Information System, the first large-scale effort to track large-scale marine biodiversity, creature distribution, & population sizes with the use of the internet, which is still in operation to this day.
For all of his efforts heading the Census Steering Committee for 8 years, he was awarded the International Cosmos Prize, a prize-awarding those who have made outstanding strides toward promoting “A Harmonious Coexistence Between Nature & Mankind”.
Soon after, in 2009, his entire career, up until then, was chronicled by a group of 5 scientists in an article for the Journal of Deep-Sea Research. This article, titled “A Mosaic of Diverse Ideas: The Ecological Legacy of J. Frederick Grassle”, gave a comprehensive overview of his career, ideas, & legacy.
In 2012, he officially retired from Rutgers University, after 23 years working at the institution.
Sadly, on July 6th, 2018, Dr. John Frederick Grassle was found to have passed away in his sleep at the Regency Jewish Heritage Nursing Home in Franklin Township New Jersey at the age of 78. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Judith Helen Grassle, along with their son, John Thomas Grassle. He is also survived by his sister, Norah Jean Bunts.
His contributions to marine biology, marine science, and humanity as a whole are immense. He is fondly remembered by colleagues, mentees, and friends alike. His contributions will not be forgotten and continue to inspire Marine Biologists to this day.
His Achievements, Accomplishments, Awards, & Honors
Across his career, he had 6 species of Polychaetes, 1 genus of Polychaetes, 3 species of mollusks, & 3 species of crustaceans named after him.
He has authored a plethora of scientific papers, being involved with approximately 80 across his entire career.
He was recognized with the Japan Prize in 2013 for his work in advancing marine science, oceanography, & humanity as a whole. The Japan Prize is one of the most prestigious international prizes, & is awarded in the presence of the Prime Minister, Empress, & Emperor of Japan.
For his outstanding contributions to the biological world, he was rewarded with the Grand Prix des Sciences de la Mer Albert de Monaco in 2005
He earned the National Water Quality Monitoring Council's Vision Award in 2008.
He was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Earth & Environmental Science shortly after, in 2009.
In 2011, for all of his work in oceanography, he was recognized by the American Society of Limnology & Oceanography, A.C. Redfield Lifetime Achievement Award.
In the same year, he was awarded the International Cosmos Prize, presented by the Expo 90 Foundation to the Census of Marine Life Scientific Steering Committee, a committee he was integral to the founding & leading of.
From 1994 to 2002, he was the president of the International Association for Biological Oceanography, commonly known as IABO.
Directories / Credits
Citation No. 1: “John Frederick Grassle”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date.
Citation No. 2: “John Frederick Grassle Obituary”, Written by Unknown, & Published on July 6th, 2018.
Citation No. 3: “Renowned Rutgers Marine Scientist J. Frederick Grassle, Whose Pioneering Work Helped Unlock the Ocean’s Mysteries, Dies”, Written by the Office of Public Outreach & Communication, Rutgers University, & Published on July 16th, 2018.
ttps://marine.rutgers.edu/announcements/renowned-rutgers-marine-scientist-j-frederick-grassle-whose-pioneering-work-helped-unlock-the-oceans-mysteries-dies/
Citation No. 4: “Dr. John Frederick Grassle”, Written by the Japan Prize Foundation, & Published in 2013.
Citation No. 5: “A mosaic of diverse ideas: the ecological legacy of J. Frederick Grassle”, Written by Paul V. R. Snelgrove, Rose Petrecca, Karen I. Stocks, Cindy Van Dover, & Cheryl Ann Zimmer, & Published in September 2009.
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