 Dr. Thompson — the first American chemist to devote his major efforts to investigating the chemistry of sea water — founded the University of Washington's oceanographic laboratories in 1930.This was an interdepartmental institution that drew its staff from the university's departments of physics, chemistry, bacteriology, botany and zoology.Two years later, as a result of Dr. Thompson's guidance, the university placed a small research vessel, "Catalyst", in service to perform inshore oceanographic work in the Pacific Northwest.