Dr. Bruce Corliss, Dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, is pleased to announce that the name of the Regional Class Research Vessel-2 (RCRV-2) will be R/V Resolution following the approval of the National Science Foundation.
The procedure for naming the RCRV-2 largely follows that used in naming the R/V Endeavor. Nominations were solicited across the GSO/URI community, as well as East Coast Oceanographic Consortium Members (ECOC) members and the general public. 148 nominations were received, many of these being repeat nominations. The dean met with a URI-ECOC committee with faculty, scientists, staff and students to have a discussion about the nominations.
The discussion focused on pros and cons for all the nominations that were divided into four categories: People, Geography, Historical and Other. The committee discussed various criteria for the name and felt that it should be viewed as an ECOC vessel and that the name be aspirational for the oceanographic community.
The naming of R/V Resolution follows the precedent by Dean John Knauss of choosing a historical name for the R/V Endeavor. As the second vessel used by Captain Cook in his voyages of exploration, the HMS Resolution had a long and distinguished career and continues the tradition within URI of a historical name following the R/V Endeavour, Cook's first vessel of exploration. There is a further linkage to Cook and the Endeavour, as the remains of the HMS Endeavour are thought to be in the east passage of Narragansett Bay, some five miles from the Narragansett Bay Campus. The name, R/V Resolution, reflects URI/ECOC's resolve to obtain a vessel and continue over the next 30-40 years to operate a blue water vessel to serve the nation and the oceanographic community, as well as the ECOC's resolve to address important oceanographic research and pressing environmental questions. It is a distinctive moniker named after a vessel with a distinguished history of exploration.
The R/V Resolution will continue a long and proud tradition at the Graduate School of Oceanography of operating a blue water oceanographic vessel and reflects GSO's commitment to provide a critical national facility to the U.S. oceanographic community.