A Legacy of Leadership, Innovation, and Ocean Science

Bill Curry has strengthened the global impact of the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences by expanding research and education efforts, positioning the island as a key player in addressing global ocean challenges

Bermuda may cover only 21 square miles, but a vast ocean of immense scientific importance surrounds it. For over a century, this stretch of sea has attracted leading ocean scientists to the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences. Since 2012, William (Bill) Curry—a distinguished and internationally respected scientist—has served as president and CEO of BIOS. Under his leadership, the institute has undergone significant transformation, enhancing its global reach and influence. From programs that inspire Bermudian students to pursue marine science, to advancing innovative microbial ecology research through BIOS-SCOPE, Curry has guided BIOS through a critical era as the world’s oceans face growing environmental threats.

As Curry prepares to retire at the end of June, however, it is not the discoveries and innovations of the past 45 years that define his legacy. Rather, he considers his greatest achievement to be the strategic governance and foresight that ensured BIOS’s financial stability, positioning the institution for continued success in the next quarter century of oceanographic research. Curry’s two terms as a National Science Foundation (NSF) program director ignited his passion for the management side of science. They underscored for him the importance of fostering a strong research environment.

“The most important thing I did at BIOS was reconstituting the scientific staff by hiring several exceptional early-career individuals and mentoring them to succeed as research scientists–not just in conducting research, but also securing funding,” said Curry. “Excelling in both areas made BIOS an attractive partner for a potential merger. Any prospective partner could see that these were exactly the kinds of scientists they’d want to hire.” 

That partner emerged in 2021 when BIOS became a unit of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University (ASU). This milestone not only provided BIOS with financial stability and secured tenure-track positions for Curry’s staff, but it also opened access to a new pool of talent to help support BIOS’s growing use of autonomous underwater systems and robotics. 

“ASU is one of the major contributors to space exploration,” Curry remarked. “They have an engineering group that knows how to work in a hostile environment. And that’s exactly what the ocean is. You have to be able to make things work while facing conditions that don’t make it easy.”

Curry should know as he is well-versed in navigating challenging ocean environments. Having joined Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) as a postdoctoral scholar in 1980 after earning his PhD in marine geology from Brown University, Curry’s 32 years at WHOI included serving as senior scientist in the Department of Geology and Geophysics, as well as director of the Ocean and Climate Change Institute (OCCI).

Besides getting the OCCI up and running and securing substantial philanthropic support to sustain it, Curry considers his most impactful work during his three-plus decades at WHOI to be his research into how changes in deep ocean circulation in the North Atlantic influence long-term climate patterns. Over the course of his tenure at WHOI, Curry participated in 13 oceanographic expeditions, serving as chief scientist on ten of them. This extensive fieldwork resulted in the collection of over 400 sediment cores from various regions of the North and South Atlantic Oceans.

Collection of deep-sea sediments is crucial for understanding climate change on timescales ranging from decades to millennia. Curry was also keen to improve the equipment scientists relied on to conduct these vital studies.

“To say that he was a visionary from the beginning is a serious understatement,” said WHOI Geology and Geophysics Emeritus Research Scholar James Broda. “I was with him on his very first cruise as co-principal investigator and he quickly had us digging into the Sierra Leone Rise (in the east equatorial Atlantic Ocean) as if it was made of gold. Using onboard analysis, Bill prepared an unprecedented profile of this complex feature and the secrets it held for the future of climate science.”

Noting that Curry was also the cruise’s backgammon champ, Broda recalled their many expeditions together in the years that followed. “We sailed and cored in everything from the ‘furious fifties’ (notoriously rough seas in the Southern Ocean) to mirror calm equatorial waters and everywhere in between.” However, their efforts to access ancient sediments were constrained by U.S. coring technology, that could only reach about 30 feet into the seabed - a limitation against which Curry began to chafe.

“Bill had higher ambition,” said WHOI president and director Peter de Menocal, who calls Curry “a giant…a mentor…someone I looked up to very early in my career and whose counsel I still value today.”

After obtaining NSF and private funding, Curry and Broda led WHOI’s three-year effort to design and build a new long piston corer able to penetrate up to 150 feet into the ocean floor. This breakthrough allowed scientists to analyze sediment layers for fossil evidence of past ice ages and climate patterns, providing critical insights into present-day climate change. In 2007, WHOI marine geologists successfully retrieved the first sediment cores using the new system. 

“The long core was deployed for over a decade, serving dozens of scientists and engineers around the world,” said Broda. "The project was his coup – he was determined to change the landscape forever.”

While Curry downplays his pivotal role in the long core’s development, de Menocal recently pointed to it as a testament to Curry’s winning qualities: “humility, clarity of thought, insight into deep questions, and his ability to see the problem over the horizon and bring the larger community along on that journey.”

The latter is a theme that recurs in conversations about Curry and his career –– one marked not only by willingness to coach and lead other scientists, but also his obvious enthusiasm and skill for doing so. James Zachos, an early-career scientist at the time, recalls being on a two-month Ocean Drilling Program cruise that Curry co-led in 1995. 

On the first morning, Zachos found Curry brewing his private supply of coffee beans and was quickly persuaded to skip the galley for a superior brew. Thus began a sunrise ritual of “Curry brewed” coffee and conversation that lasted the entire voyage. 

“Those morning chats were invaluable, an opportunity for me to learn as much as possible from Bill on topics ranging from ocean science to being an effective and responsible leader, as well as just getting feedback on various ideas,” said Zachos, now professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences Emeritus at the University of California, Santa Cruz. 

Early on, de Menocal said, Curry displayed a “healthy skepticism” that elevated the field of paleo-oceanography by fostering deeper critical thinking. Over the years, his approach inspired generations of researchers.

“He brought real discipline of thinking to the community,” de Menocal said. “He is compassionate…but also someone who will tell you the hard news if you need to hear it.” 

Curry’s penchant for higher standards extended beyond research to leadership and management.

“One of the things he demonstrated early in his career –– but showed an abundance of later –– was his ability to lead,” de Menocal said. He highlighted Curry’s influence at NSF, where he helped shape the national research agenda and funding priorities in his field, while inviting other researchers to collaborate to identify the most critical focus areas to pursue.

“He holds the community to a high standard in determining where to invest time and resources,” de Menocal added. “Leadership in these roles is challenging, it requires the ability to find common ground within a vast and diverse community.”

Curry’s passion for leadership led him to BIOS, drawn by its status as “a historically important research institution” and its ideal location for studying ocean circulation, nutrient cycles, and marine life. He and his wife, Ruth Curry –– an adjunct scientist who launched the Mid-Atlantic Glider Initiative and Collaboration (MAGIC) program in 2014 –– relocated to Bermuda in 2012, while maintaining a home near Woods Hole. 

“I want to make it clear to everybody how much I’ve enjoyed my time at BIOS. It’s a wonderful way to cap off my career,” Curry said.

With his retirement now official, colleagues, esteemed donors, and other supporters of BIOS will gather for an appreciation event early this summer. Rosemarie McMahon, director of advancement, highlighted Curry’s dedication to ensuring a smooth transition.

“Bill has remained steadfast as we transition to new leadership,” McMahon said. “Good governance is more than just words. When these principles are truly put into practice –– through thoughtful leadership and the long-term dedication of our donors –– it’s important that they are acknowledged.”

The event will celebrate Curry’s legacy alongside the invaluable contributions of BIOS donors. “As one generation steps down, we hope the next will carry forward their legacy and champion the advancement of research and education at BIOS,” McMahon added.

Earlier this year, BIOS announced the appointment of Craig Carlson as its next director. A professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology at the University of California Santa Barbara since 2001, Carlson is a familiar face at BIOS, having collaborated with its scientists and staff in various capacities for over 35 years. As BIOS enters its next phase, it will greatly benefit from his unique blend of expertise, leadership, and vision, Curry said. 

“I’m pleased Craig Carlson has agreed to take this role. BIOS needs fresh leadership, a new strategic vision, and a commitment to executing it over the next decade. Ten years from now, it will be truly exciting to see what has been accomplished,” said Curry. He noted that while his own expertise lies in geology, Carlson’s background in biology aligns with BIOS’s future focus, making him the ideal leader for the institution’s next chapter.

“Some have described the past century in ocean sciences as the century of physics and chemistry, but the 21st century is shaping up to be the century of biology,” Curry said. “Much of the physics is well understood, and we are now able to monitor it in near real-time, but there is still so much to learn about biology, and it’s an area seeing tremendous growth.”

Meanwhile, BIOS’s strength in the physical sciences is set to play a crucial role in the development of climate solutions.

“It’s clear to me that we are not reducing CO2 emissions fast enough to stop warming at any reasonable level. At this point, it seems necessary to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. The ocean, of course, is already the major sink for CO2,” Curry continued. “There is a great deal of research underway to find ways to enhance that sink, making it even more effective. Navigating this challenge, both scientifically and ethically, will be one of the great hurdles.” He added that some BIOS scientists are already addressing these critical questions.

As Carlson prepares to lead BIOS in these and myriad other undertakings, he’s grateful for the stable fiscal and organizational base he’ll inherit. 

“I think the institution owes a great deal of gratitude to Bill for his commitment to BIOS, for positioning it to explore new directions, ensuring its financial stability, and providing the opportunity for growth,” Carlson said. “Bill’s focus has always been on keeping excellence at the heart of everything.”

About the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences
The Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, a unit of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University, is a U.S. non-profit scientific research and educational organization based in Bermuda and a Bermuda Registered Charity. 

For 120 years scientists have worked to explore the ocean and address important local and global environmental issues. Ocean and atmospheric science research programs at ASU BIOS provide a wealth of information that is used by government representatives, environmental resource managers and community leaders to inform their decision-making processes. 

R/V Atlantic Explorer is a U.S. flagged ocean class vessel in the Academic Research Fleet, operated by ASU BIOS as a UNOLS designated operator, that provides scientists with a platform for conducting short-and long-term studies of the open ocean, providing data to inform our understanding of global climate change, nutrient cycling and ocean-atmospheric dynamics. For more information visit bios.asu.edu.

About the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory

The Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University represents the urgent belief that we can and must make a meaningful contribution to ensuring a habitable planet and a future in which well-being is attainable.

The Global Futures Laboratory is the world’s first comprehensive laboratory dedicated to the empowerment of our planet and its systems. It is built upon the deep and diverse expertise of ASU scientists and scholars and an ability to leverage insights and knowledge from an extensive global network of partners in order to address the complex social, economic and scientific challenges spawned by the current and future threats from environmental degradation. 

From this foundation, the Global Futures Laboratory is able to anticipate and respond to existing and emerging challenges and use innovation to purposefully shape and inform our future so that all of Earth’s inhabitants may thrive. For more information visit globalfutures.asu.edu.