Maxim van Norden, a University of Southern Mississippi (USM) hydrography adjunct professor was recently inducted into the Hydrographer Hall of Fame by the Board Trustees of the Hydrographic Society of America at the U.S. Hydro Conference in Wilmington, N.C. Van Norden’s 53 years of dedication have provided a pathway for students to explore hydrography and be a part of a growing field along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
“Thank you, members of the Hall of Fame committee, for selecting me for this great honor. I love hydrography. It’s been central to my life and my family’s life,” said van Norden.
Hydrography is the study of collecting data through water depth, currents, tides, and water quality in bodies of water such as oceans, rivers and lakes. The field also involves creating maps and charts for navigation and coastal monitoring. For van Norden, this field was exciting and a path that would change his life forever.
He began his hydrography career in 1972 at the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office where a recruiter asked him if he was ready for fun, travel and adventure. Van Norden said that’s exactly what he received in the 53 years of work with duties such as his time on a Navy ship surveying the Yellow Sea near southwest Korea. Later, he surveyed the coasts of Greece, Panama and Indonesia.
“I coordinated U.S. Navy and Indonesian Navy efforts to survey all the strategic straits of the archipelago. I’ve been to Diego Garcia and did a wire sweep survey of the coral-infested harbor, traveled all over the Middle East to improve nautical charts and the Navy battlespace database,” said van Norden.
After 36 years, he retired and found himself at Southern Miss as the head coordinator of the hydrographic science graduate degree program at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. He later launched the hydrography undergraduate degree program at the USM Gulf Park campus. In April 2018, he led a team of Southern Miss faculty and students to locate the Clotilda, the last slave ship in the Mobile River. After retiring for the second time, he continues to teach as an adjunct professor and encourages students to take advantage of the University’s hydrography program, only one of three programs in North America.
“If you like to work on the water, dabble with technology and see new places, this is a great field,” said van Norden.
Van Norden is one of two Southern Miss professors who have been awarded the Hydrographer Hall of Fame including retired professor, Dave Wells. Click here to learn more about the Southern Miss hydrography program and explore life underneath the water’s surface.