Arthur Nowell was a student of philosophy and engineering, before focusing his research on turbulence and boundary layer fluid mechanics. For 23 years, he was dean and department chair for the School of Oceanography—one of the longest-serving deans at UW. As a scientist and educator, his goal is to train students of science not only to be good researchers, but also to be comfortable with the complexity and moral ambiguity of science. This feeds into his second area of research: maritime piracy. In this, he helps develop forecasts in real-time, complex environments that guide the military/social responses to modern pirates, helping to keep the oceans free for all users.