Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sea Grant College Program records

The National Sea Grant College Program was established by the US Congress in 1966 under The National Sea Grant College and Program Act, “to unite the academic power of the nation’s universities with public and private sector partners in order to capture the economic and social benefits of the oceans, coasts and Great Lakes in a sustainable manner.” (1) The program became part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 1970. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) first became involved with the National Sea Grant Program in 1967, when the Institute received one of the first project grants from the program, GH-1, for Ocean Engineering Curriculum Development. (2) The MIT Sea Grant College Program was initiated in July 1970 with the founding of the Sea Grant Project Office. In 1972, the National Office recognized MIT as a Sea Grant Institution and in December 1976 MIT was given Sea Grant College status by vote of Congress. (3) On January 12, 1977, MIT was officially designated a Sea Grant College, and was the first private university to receive this designation. (4) MIT Sea Grant sponsors a wide variety of marine research through an annual funding competition open to Massachusetts university-based researchers. Research undertaken by the program includes the work of the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Laboratory (AUV Lab), founded in 1989, and the Sea Grant Design Lab for naval architecture and systems. The MIT Sea Grant Marine Advisory Services group conducts applied research in coastal habitats, marine bioinvasions, water quality, climate change, fishing communities and policy, and offers hands-on marine science education programs. (5) The program also administers the Henry L. Doherty Professorship in Ocean Utilization, which was established in 1973. This interdisciplinary program is overseen by a joint advisory committee consisting of faculty members from MIT and other Massachusetts colleges and universities, leaders of Massachusetts marine-related industries, and representatives of state government and nongovernmental organizations.

1. “Sea Grant History,” http://seagrant.noaa.gov/WhoWeAre/SeaGrantHistory.aspx (Last accessed January 13, 2017).

2. MIT Report of the President for the academic year 1969-1970, p. 93

3. MIT Report of the President and the Chancellor 1971-1972, p. 85; “About MIT Sea Grant,” http://seagrant.mit.edu/index_about.php (Last accessed January 11, 2017).

4. MIT Report of the President and the Chancellor Issue 1976-1977, p. 131, 447

5. “About MIT Sea Grant,” http://seagrant.mit.edu/index_about.php (Last accessed January 11, 2017).

1970 - 1973

Alfred A. H. Keil

1973 - 1975

Ira Dyer

1976 - 1982

Dean A. Horn

1982 -

Chryssostomos Chryssostomidis