Leveraging 60 years of professional experience in the field of education, Dr. Floyd W. McCoy recently retired. Teaching as a professor of geology, geophysics and oceanography at the University of Hawaii-Windward since 1990, he attained emeritus status in 2023. During his time as an educator, he specialized in marine geology, volcanology and geo-archaeology at the undergraduate and graduate levels. In light of his success as an educator, as well as an alumnus of the university, Dr. McCoy was the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award from the University of Hawaii in 2021.
Outside of his regular teaching responsibilities, Dr. McCoy has often traveled as a professor and a scientist domestically and abroad to Greece, Italy and New York. Likewise, he has lent his time and expertise to the Associated Scientists at Woods Hole as a senior research scientist, as well as previously served as the curator and director of the Core Laboratory at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University from 1974 to 1986. Prior to embarking on his career, he served with the United States Navy from 1954 to 1959, through which he participated in the First Taiwan Strait Crisis (also known as the Formosa Crisis) between 1954 and 1955.
To prepare for his career, Dr. McCoy attended the University of Hawaii, from which he received a Bachelor of Science in geology in 1962 and a Master of Science in volcanology in 1965. Years later, he attended Harvard University, earning a Doctor of Philosophy in geological sciences in 1974. To remain abreast of developments in his field, he has also maintained affiliation with such organizations as the Geological Society of America, the Archaeological Institute of America, the American Geophysical Union and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, among others. Furthermore, Dr. McCoy has contributed as an author to “Geological Guidebook to Santorini” in 1997 and has been featured on 30 different television specials, including on National Geographic, NBC, the Discovery Channel and WGBH.
In the coming years, Dr. McCoy intends to continue enjoying his well-deserved retirement. He has been especially proud of bringing the rigors of science into archaeology through the integration of geo-archaeology. Born in Seattle, he currently resides in Kailua, Hawaii.