Floyd W. McCoy, PhD

Born in Washington but raised in Hawaii, Dr. Floyd W. McCoy had young eyes on several volcanic eruptions and tsunamis growing up. He also witnessed their cataclysmic effects—seeing firsthand tsunamis that destroyed a town called Hilo and left in its wake grand-scale destruction and damage to the area. Needless to say, it sparked a fascination with geology that stayed with him throughout his life—he sought answers to his questions about why these phenomena occur.

Backed by a Bachelor of Science in geology and a Master of Science in volcanology from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, Dr. McCoy became a junior geophysicist within the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics at his alma mater in 1965 and subsequently held a researcher position at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from 1970 to 1973. Upon earning a Doctor of Philosophy in geological sciences from Harvard University in 1974, he wielded his expertise in marine geology, volcanology, archaeology, and geophysics—ultimately combining his interests as a geoarchaeologist and bringing the rigors of science into archeology—in the role of curator and director of the Core Laboratory with the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia University from 1974 to 1986. Since 1986, he has excelled as a senior research scientist at Associated Scientists at Woods Hole—a Massachusetts-based hub for research, technology, and education in the marine sciences. In addition, he devoted more than 30 years to sharing his wealth of knowledge with students as a professor of geology and oceanography, and a member of the graduate faculty in geology, at Windward Community College within the University of Hawai’i—teaching there from 1990 to 2023. Upon retiring, he was honored with the rank of Professor Emeritus.

On top of these primary positions, Dr. McCoy has been part of the affiliate graduate faculty at Harvard University and the University of California Santa Barbara. He has accrued experience as a visiting researcher, graduate fellow, and assistant scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, sedimentologist within the Deep-Sea Drilling Program at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, a visiting researcher at Universita degli Studi di Milano, and both a Malcolm H. Wiener Professor and visiting research professor in the Wiener Laboratory at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, where he also founded the Geoarchaeology Laboratory. In addition to developing oceanographic programs in Italy and Israel, he serves as the chief scientist on numerous oceanographic cruises and is working on combining the fields of archeology and geology, geoarchaeology, as a newly emerging area of study. Over the course of his career, he has been a speaker and presenter in the field, contributed articles to numerous publications, authored books, been featured in the New York Times, and been part of 30 TV specials, including three for National Geographic, NBC, and Discovery Channel. Before attending college, he served in the U.S. Navy for five years.

 A fellow of the Geological Society of America since 2000, Dr. McCoy has remained connected to his industry as a member of the Kailua Historical Society, American Geophysical Union, Archaeological Institute of America, International Association of Sedimentologists, National Association of Geoscience Teachers, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Oceanographic Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, among several others. Looking toward the future, he hopes to continue to fulfill his teaching obligations and relocate to Greece for a year with his wife, Ann, to tend to his laboratory at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Dr. McCoy is the father of five.