GLIN==> News Release - 30 Years of Superior Science

["Marie E. Zhuikov" <mzhuikov@d.umn.edu>]

                            MN SEA GRANT
                            NEWS RELEASE
7/14/05
Contact: Marie Zhuikov, mzhuikov@umn.edu or (218) 726-7677

      Minnesota Sea Grant Celebrates 30 Years of Superior Science

Hypothermia research that leads to new products for a flotation device 
manufacturer, discovering the diving reflex, which changes the way 
people submerged in cold water are revived, and new environmentally 
friendly control measures for use against invasive fish such as the 
Eurasian ruffe and sea lamprey - these are only a few of many ways that 
Minnesota Sea Grant has added to knowledge about Lake Superior and 
Minnesota's inland waters.

Over the past 30 years, Sea Grant has distributed millions of 
publications in print and on the Web that are used in places ranging 
from schools to bed and breakfast inns. The program has gained a 
reputation as a leader in outreach, helping fishery industry leaders, 
the academic community, environmental groups, and natural resource 
agencies with their outreach needs. Its researchers have conducted 
nearly 150 projects, awarded 188 graduate student research 
assistantships, and published over 200 outreach publications.

One of 30 Sea Grant programs located at universities on marine and 
freshwater coasts around the country, Minnesota Sea Grant began in 1975 
when an extension office was established on the University of Minnesota 
Duluth (UMD) campus. This outreach and education focus expanded in 1977 
to include research when four fisheries projects were funded. The 
program, then directed from the Twin Cities campus, became a full 
member of the national Sea Grant network in 1985 when it was awarded 
college status. All but three staff in the Twin Cities moved to UMD in 
1994, and full administration for the program was moved to UMD in 2004.

According to UMD Chancellor Kathryn A. Martin, "The University of 
Minnesota Duluth, given its unique location on Lake Superior, seemed an 
appropriate headquarters for the Minnesota Sea Grant Program. This 
program has been instrumental in developing a teaching agenda, both for 
students and faculty in the Duluth community, but also for the greater 
Minnesota community, and with national impact. The UMD Sea Grant agenda 
focuses on the exploration of the largest freshwater lake in the world 
and the life that inhabits it. Minnesota Sea Grant consistently focuses 
on maintaining the wonders of our magnificent and important freshwater 
resources!"

Individual Sea Grant programs are a partnership between the federal 
government (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and 
the land grant university in the state.

"In our case," said Minnesota Sea Grant Associate Director Jeff 
Gunderson, "we are located administratively at UMD, but we provide 
funds and have programming throughout the University of Minnesota 
system as well as other public universities in the state."

Those programs have included week-long Sea Camps that exposed hundreds 
of area children to the wonders of Lake Superior; American Indians in 
Marine Sciences, which trained local tribal college students for 
careers in aquatic science; establishment of the Aquatic Invasive 
Species Information Center, which is a respected source of information 
about exotic species and issued the first alerts when Eurasian ruffe 
and round gobies were found in the Duluth-Superior Harbor.

Currently, Minnesota Sea Grant is training shoreland property owners in 
stewardship techniques, linking the UMD Education Department with the 
Great Lakes Aquarium, offering fellowships to graduate students working 
on aquatic research projects, and funding cutting-edge fish genetics 
research that could apply to human health conditions.

The program plans to continue to pursue relevant aquatic science 
projects.

"The challenges of managing freshwater resources create incredible 
opportunities for universities in the Great Lakes Basin," said 
Gunderson. "In cooperation with the people of the region, universities 
can make significant contributions to preserving the Great Lakes 
through research, education, and outreach."

                                     ###


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