Dr. Frederick Hendrick Fisher, co-designer of FLIP (FLoating Instrument Platform) and a leader in ocean sound propagation research at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, died Wednesday, May 4, 2005, at Kaiser Hospital in San Diego, of a stroke. He was 78 years old.
Fisher began his career at Scripps Institution of Oceanography's Marine Physical Laboratory (MPL) in 1955, conducting Ph.D. thesis research. Following a year as a Research Fellow at Harvard University, he rejoined Scripps's MPL in 1958 as an Assistant Research Physicist, and became a Research Oceanographer and Lecturer in 1968. During 1963-64, he served as Director of Research for Havens Industries, San Diego, working on desalination of seawater by reverse osmosis. He was Professor and Chairman of the Physics Department at the University of Rhode Island in 1970-71, then returned to MPL where he became Associate Director in 1975, and Deputy Director in 1987. Although he retired in 1991, he remained an active member of Scripps and the acoustic research community until his death.
Early in his career, he was scientist-in-charge of sound propagation research that led to the need for the development of FLIP, a stable research platform for work at sea. With co-designer Fred Spiess, Fisher created the concept of the 355-foot manned ocean buoy, FLIP, in the early 1960s. FLIP is a one-of-a-kind research vessel that literally "flips" from a horizontal to vertical position in the ocean to become a stable surface for science research. Fisher was scientific officer responsible for developing the "flipping" operation, using 35-foot-long, 1/10th, scale models. He led numerous seagoing operations aboard FLIP following its launch in 1962 .
"Scripps Oceanography has lost a brilliant collaborator and an ocean inventor with a tremendously keen sense of innovation," said Dr. Charles Kennel, director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography. "Fred's development of FLIP and his numerous contributions to oceanography are honored parts of the history of ocean science. His colleagues and I will truly miss his human spirit, his contagious enthusiasm for ocean science, and his devotion to Scripps."
In addition to his contributions to FLIP, Fisher also had a long and distinguished scientific career, leading research efforts in underwater acoustics, physical chemistry, ocean technology and oceanography. He led a number of Navy-funded research cruises studying long-range propagation of sound in the ocean.
Since 1957 he had been leading research programs devoted to high-pressure measurements related to the physical chemistry of sound absorption in seawater due to magnesium sulfate and other salts. As he put it, he “spent his professional lifetime squeezing epsom salt”. His interest in the low-frequency anomalous sound absorption in the ocean below 1 kHz led to the discovery of boric acid as the cause of the low-frequency relaxation. He surpervised V.P. Simmons' PhD thesis on the boric acid low-frequency acoustic relaxation in the ocean, and C.C. Hsu's PhD thesis on the effect of pressure on chemical sound absorption and ion-pairing in the ocean. He proudly displayed the tools of his trade on the license plate (EYEWASH) of his favorite car, the spacious Lincoln Continental.
At Scripps, Fisher served as vice chairman of the Scripps Staff Council, and in 1975 he initiated interest in preserving and restoring the George H. Scripps Memorial Marine Biological Laboratory building - the first building erected in 1910 on the Scripps La Jolla campus - for its historical significance. The Irving Gill-designed building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, and became a National Landmark in 1982.

Friendly and outgoing, Fisher was a Hall of Fame tennis player, becoming an NCAA national intercollegiate doubles champion for the University of Washington in 1949. He received a B.S. degree in 1949 and a Ph.D. degree in 1957, both in physics, from the University of Washington, Seattle. He was a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy from 1945 to 1947.
Fisher was a member or fellow of many professional scientific organizations, and the author of numerous scientific publications. Most notably, he was a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) that honored him on three occasions during his career, with the IEEE Millennium Medal Award in 2000, the IEEE-Oceanic Engineering Society Distinguished Technical Achievement Award in 1996, and the IEEE-Oceanic Engineering Society Distinguished Service Award in 1991. He was one of the few members of the IEEE-OES to receive all three awards. He served as the fourth Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering from 1988 to 1992. Fisher had a distinguished record as the Editor by focusing the Journal to be a publication of high quality devoted to the fundamental application of Oceanic Engineering principles. He brought the use of special technology issues to the fore and demonstrated their value while building on the works of his predecessors. He was a constant force in Journal matters, serving as Editor Emeritus while mentoring two of his successor Editors and helping launch a program to publish declassified archival papers in the Journal.
He was elected in 1976 to the Executive Council of he Acoustical Society of America and served as vice-president (1981-82) and President (1983-84) of the Acoustical Society of America, and as a member of the Governing Board of the American Institute of Physics from 1985 to 1991. In addition, he was Associate Editor for the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America from 1969 to 1976
Fisher is survived by four sons, Bruce of Santa Barbara, Mark of Point Loma (San Diego), Keith of Riverside, Glen of Point Loma (San Diego), and nine grandchildren. His wife, Julie, died in 1993.