Mit Sea Grant College Program: Program Report 1994- 1995

America's coastal waters contain living resources, oil and gas, minerals and enormous recreational possibilities. However, overuse and misuse continue to result in polluted water, declining fish and shellfish populations and degraded coastlines. At the same time, insufficient knowledge about the shape of the sea floor, the dynamics of weather systems and the interplay of human and natural processes along our coastline is limiting both restoration and future use of resources. In 1966, Congress created the national Sea Grant Program to engage professionals in the nation's universities to help capitalize on, protect and diversify the country's resources and long-term investments in the oceans. The Sea Grant College Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is one of 29 pro grams funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad ministration (NOAA) to carry out Congress' mandate. MIT Sea Grant works cooperatively with institutions of higher learning throughout Massachusetts, mobilizing resources to solve the Commonwealth's marine-related problems. In addition to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, partners and participants in MIT Sea Grant-sponsored programs include the various campuses of the University of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Brandeis University, Northeastern University and Harvard University. Collaborative activities with the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, the New England Aquarium and the Massachusetts Bays Marine Studies Consortium, as well as across the Sea Grant network, magnify the program's impact. MIT Sea Grant maintains a close collaboration with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Sea Grant program. The two Massachusetts programs coordinate activities to prevent duplication and to best employ Sea Grant's resources. While MIT supplements NOAA's financing, other government, industry, and research groups also contribute to the program. With funding from MIT Sea Grant, engineers and scientists from across disciplines and institutions are taking Sea Grant's mission into new areas, such as marine biotechnology and autonomous underwater vehicles. This report highlights some specific accomplishments in these and other areas.