Dan Fornari

Dan Fornari is a marine geologist and senior scientist in the Geology & Geophysics Department at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). He is currently holds the W. Van Allen Clark Senior Scientist Chair at WHOI and is the director of the Deep Ocean Exploration Institute.  Dan is known for his research on volcanic and hydrothermal processes and mapping at mid-ocean ridges, and also studies the structure and magmatic processes at oceanic transforms and oceanic islands, such as Hawaii and the Galápagos. 

In his nearly 35 years of seagoing experience, he has participated in over 70 research cruises in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and has completed over 100 dives in Alvin and other Navy submersibles.  He is the author or co-author of more than 100 scientific papers. Together, he and Dr. Susan Humphris developed the Dive and Discover website in 2000, an education and outreach website that brings the excitement of oceanographic science to thousands of students each day.  Dan has served on numerous scientific panels, and national and international committees including the President’s Commission on Ocean Exploration.

Affiliation: WHOI