It is with sadness we report the passing of Dr. Iver Duedall, the distinguished department leader and professor of chemical oceanography and environmental science whose kindness, work ethic and vision displayed over more than 24 years at Florida Tech made him a favorite among colleagues and students and a force in research and academics.
Dr. Duedall passed away on May 12. He was 87.
Born and raised in Oregon, Dr. Duedall grew up in a working-class family with no exposure to people who attended college. His high school guidance counselor remarked that he had a promising career ahead in heating and refrigeration repair.
Despite this, and with the support and encouragement of many caring people, Dr. Duedall later attended Oregon State University in Corvallis, earning a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 1963 and Master of Science in Oceanography in 1966. He went on to earn his Ph.D. in oceanography from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
It was from Halifax that the recent graduate embarked on the Hudson 70 Expedition, a groundbreaking, year-long voyage involving more than 120 scientists who gathered foundational data across the Atlantic, Pacific, Antarctic, and Arctic oceans.
In 1972, Dr. Duedall was appointed assistant professor of chemical oceanography at the State University of New York Stony Brook’s Marine Sciences Research Center. It was there that he served as principal investigator for the Coal Waste Artificial Reef Program (C-WARP), a landmark project examining the feasibility of using stabilized coal combustion by-products to create artificial reefs in the ocean.
That area, along with the behavior and effects of contaminants that enter marine systems, and international conventions for ocean protection, would constitute the foundation of Dr. Duedall’s research and focus across his career.
That career took him to Melbourne, Florida, and the campus of Florida Tech where, on Jan. 1, 1983, he started as department head of oceanography and ocean engineering. One of his then-new colleagues, Professor Emeritus John Windsor, had arrived at Florida Tech just four months earlier. In December 1982, he heard a truck backing up near his office in the Link Building and found two men unloading boxes.
“One of the two men was Iver Duedall, who I discovered was my newly hired department head,” recalled Windsor, who later served as program chair for environmental sciences and oceanography. “I learned then and later saw throughout his Florida Tech career that Iver always jumped into every task with full vigor and a very positive spirit. He was never averse to getting his hands dirty.”
Oceanography and ocean engineering professor Geoff Swain came to Florida Tech in 1984 and found that Dr. Duedall’s department, like the man himself, was vibrant and active. Dr. Duedall led a team of faculty and students who embraced their fields, from chemical, physical and biological oceanography to naval architecture, coastal engineering, offshore energy and more, he remembered.
Even with so much going on with his own research and his department leadership, Dr. Duedall never failed to make time for others.
“He was always attentive and supportive of the professors, staff and students. He was a wonderful colleague and great leader,” Swain said. “He must be credited for much of the success of the program at that time.”
Professor Emeritus Ed Kalajian, who served as department head and faculty member in civil engineering across his 46 years at Florida Tech, first engaged with Dr. Duedall in the mid-1980s when the latter was seeking engineering assistance on concrete mix composition. They would end up working as members of a larger team researching the use of oil ash waste in block form for artificial reefs.
“Iver was well respected by the team of researchers. His smile always put everyone at ease,” Kalajian said. “He was a delightful person to work with and was very well respected in his field of expertise.”
Dr. Duedall was also, his colleagues noted, an innovative and creative thinker in the classroom and in his use of technology – and sometimes both at the same time.
Windsor said he helped bring the oceanography and ocean engineering department into “the computer age” but never forced changes on anyone. And as he developed a new course, Global Environmental Problems and Solutions, Dr. Duedall drew from principles of biology, chemistry, economics, mathematics, history, sociology and education, a pioneering blend of fields that made the class unique.
Later in his career, Dr. Duedall was touting a new software product that he began to use in his classes, though many colleagues vowed to never do the same.
The software was called PowerPoint.
“We all know how that story went,” Windsor said. “Interestingly, Iver never said ‘I told you so.’ I think everybody who knew him, on campus and off campus, said he was the nicest or kindest professor they knew.”
History professor Gordon Patterson met Dr. Duedall by chance as the two were in the SUB some 40 years ago. They would join forces to champion environmental discourse through Sea Grant projects.
“Iver’s true legacy isn’t just in the proposals he wrote, the classes he taught, or his pioneering research.” Patterson said. “Iver possessed a rare blend of energy and sincerity that was infectious. He was the kind of person who, by the simple virtue of what he said and what he did, made you a better version of yourself. I am a better human for having known him.”
Distinguished University Professor Hamid Rassoul co-taught classes with Dr. Duedall. He will cherish those memories of his friend.
“Iver was a kind, thoughtful and remarkable individual who touched many lives through his friendship and dedication,” Rassoul said.
Professor Emeritus Richard Turner said of Dr. Duedall: “He was a treasured friend and colleague.”
Dr. Duedall retired from Florida Tech in 2006 but continued teaching oceanography and environmental science classes online at Eastern Florida State College. In June 2008, he and his wife, Mary, embarked on a four-month cross-country trek in their recreational vehicle. Dr. Duedall recounts their adventures in a charming essay for Florida Tech’s Silver Panthers on the Go initiative that highlight his curiosity, kindness and good humor.
“In early October we returned to Florida, where we found everything in good shape,” he wrote at the end. “Of course all our friends in the Melbourne Village neighborhood could not wait to tell us what we missed: Tropical Storm Fay.”
Dr. Duedall is survived by Mary Duedall, his loving wife of 64 years, his sons Paul and Mark, his sister Kathy, his daughters-in-law Dr. Julie Mall Duedall and Dana Duedall, his grandsons Warren and Gunnard (from whom he derived years of joy), and many distant relatives in Oregon with whom he and Mary would visit on their RV adventures.
A celebration of Dr. Duedall’s life will be held at the Ascension Lutheran Church, 1053 Pinetree Drive in Indian Harbour Beach at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 27.
In lieu of donations, Dr. Duedall’s family suggests he would like it if you took a friend or family member to lunch and told them that they are an important part of your life.
