Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) was founded in 1930 at the recommendation of the National Academy of Sciences. What began with a single grant from the Rockefeller Foundation is today the largest non-profit oceanographic institution in the world, with over 1,000 employees dedicated to the organization's mission. WHOI's work largely falls into three categories: exploring, understanding, and educating others on the crucial role the oceans play in Earth's global ecosystem. Through these three priority areas, WHOI operates ships, underwater vehicles, laboratories, and more to make cutting edge oceanic discoveries; produces high-quality, comprehensive research; and trains a new generation of leaders through programming for K-12, undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral level students. In the near-century since its founding, WHOI has risen to preeminence in the research and educational fields, and has discovered the Titanic wreckage, located missing Air France flight 447, and responded to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Through every element of the organization's work, WHOI steadfastly works to advance knowledge of the Earth's oceans and apply this knowledge to some of today's most pressing issues.