HISTORY

 

The Legacy of F.R. Lillie and Frances Crane Lillie

 

GEOGRAPHIC DRAW

Nantucket Sound and Vineyard Sound Bathymetry - meters

Woods Hole is home to world-renowned science research, policy and education institutions. Woods Hole is a small village at the southwesternmost end of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It hosts one of the greatest concentrations of important science institutions in the country. These institutions were originally drawn to this geographic location (starting with the arrival of the U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries in 1871, now known as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service) because it is the confluence of surface and deep ocean currents, and complex landforms. The George’s Bank and other continental shelf features make it home to an incredibly rich variety of sea life, which is also why nearby New Bedford is the richest fishery in the country. By 1888, the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) was established next door to NOAA NMFS, with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution emerging in 1930. 

FAMILY HISTORY

Important to the Woods Hole Institute, Catherine Cramer’s grandfather Frank Rattray Lillie (who obtained his PhD in zoology from University of Toronto) had come to the MBL in Woods Hole in 1894 to teach a course in physiology and there met Frances Crane, who had an MD from Tufts. Drs. Lillie and Crane went on to marry. During their professional lives, Lillie became the second director for the Marine Biological Laboratory and went on to serve as one of the founders of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and president of the National Academies of Sciences. Dr. Crane was one of three women who founded the Children's School of Science in Woods Hole (today still a vibrant part of summer life in Woods Hole), and also conceived of and had built the St. Joseph’s Church Bell Tower. The tower’s two bells, which continue to ring several times a day, have engraved on them the names of two major scientific figures: Mendel and Pasteur. 

CARRYING ON THE LEGACY

Carrying the legacy of her grandparents, Catherine has spent her career focusing on engaging a wide range of communities and educators with science concepts and promoting scientific literacy. At various times she has served on advisory boards for the MBL as well as other cultural organizations in Woods Hole. Similarly, Dr. Uzzo’s Father, Dr. Anthony Uzzo, was a prominent marine biologist, environmental scientist and engineer, and advanced radar systems engineer who studied at the MBL and Stony Brook University. He did pioneering work in the early days of the environmental movement performing many impact studies of Superfund sites and public works projects that affected ecosystems, quality of life for shoreline communities, and fisheries.

WHI’s goal is to bring these institutions together to: 

  • Amplify their efforts in advancing actionable knowledge toward addressing complex 21st-century challenges that humanity faces;

  • Gather creative minds to provide an interdisciplinary framing for science, art, and humanities;

  • Provide an interdisciplinarity “third space” for scientists, educators and other creatives to frankly explore emerging ideas and problems in complex sciences, social systems, and policy; and

  • Bridge science, philosophy, and advocacy in productive discourse.