Captain Robert A. Ganse was born September 23, 1939, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He attended Pennsylvania State University and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering in 1961.

Following his graduation he was employed as a civilian geodist on a U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey steel tower triangulation party working in the state of Kansas. He was commissioned as Ensign on March 23, 1962. His career assignments included the following ships: EXPLORER, HYDROGRAPHER, MARMER, MCARTHUR as Executive Officer, SURVEYOR as Operations Officer, RUDE and HECK as Commanding Officer and the DISCOVERER as Commanding Officer.

Captain Ganse's other assignments included serving as Chief of the Environmental Hazards Branch at the National Geophysical and Solar Terrestrial Data Center in Boulder, Colorado and he was on the staff of the Chief Scientist of the National Ocean Survey in Rockville, Maryland. At the time of his retirement on February 1, 1985, he was on the Director's Staff at the Pacific Marine Center.

During his career, Captain Ganse received a Master of Science Degree for scientific research and his Ph.D. in Seismology both from St. Louis University.

Captain Ganse was a member of the American Geophysical Union, the U.S. Naval Institute and the honorary fraternity Pi Mu Epsilon. He was a registered surveyor in the state of Pennsylvania.

Captain Ganse is survived by his widow, Shirley Harnish, and two children, Andrew and Tara.

---

NOAA Corps Bulletin, 9/1/1987