"The Marine Laboratory is a campus of Duke University and a unit within the Nicholas School of the Environment. Its mission is education and research in the marine sciences, coastal environmental management, and marine biomedicine.Year-round training and research opportunities are provided to about 3,500 persons annually, including undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in the university's academic programs, visiting student groups who use the laboratory's facilities, and scientists who come from North America and abroad to conduct their own research.
"The Marine Laboratory's modern physical plant consists of 23 buildings, including four dormitories, a large dining hall, one residence, boathouse, storehouse for ship's gear, classroom laboratories, six research buildings, and a maintenance complex. The Marine Laboratory operates the R/V Susan Hudson, a 57-foot fully-equipped coastal oceans research vessel, a fleet of small boats and is the home port for the R/V Cape Hatteras, a 135-foot oceanographic research vessel supported by the National Science Foundation (see the Marine Operations section for additional information). The laboratory also maintains a well-equipped workshop, a stockroom, and a purchasing department. Additional facilities include the Pearse Memorial Library.
The Beaufort-Morehead City area provides location for five other facilities that collectively are one of the higher concentrations of marine scientists in the nation. These are the University of North Carolina's Institute of Marine Sciences, the North Carolina State University Seafood Laboratory, the North Carolina Aquarium at Bogue Banks, North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries; and the NOAA/National Ocean Service Center for Coastal Fisheries Habitat Research at Beaufort. This concentration of marine scientists provides a critical mass for the pursuit of science and education.
"The research programs of the resident faculty represent the disciplines of oceanography, marine biology, marine biomedicine, marine biotechnology, and coastal environmental management. Specialized interests include: thermal dynamics and ocean basin productivity; structure-function relationships of macromolecules and biotechnology; marine biomedicine and protein structure-function relationships; marine ecology and fisheries oceanography; physiological ecology of marine animals; ecology of marine-freshwater systems; mesoscale and large-scale ocean circulation; molecular toxicology and xenobiotic metabolism by marine organisms; application of social and policy sciences to coastal and ocean policy and management; algal ecological physiology; estuarine dynamics and biotechnology; biology and conservation of small cetaceans; and chemical ecology of marine organisms.
"Academic opportunities for both Duke and nonDuke undergraduate students at the Duke Marine Laboratory include two separate semester-in-residence programs (fall or spring). During the spring, two options are available: (1) Beaufort-Bermuda Program; and (2) Beaufort only. Two 5-week terms of summer courses are also available, which include the new Integrated Marine Conservation Program (Term II).
The graduate degree opportunities at the Marine Laboratory include: (1) the Ph.D. and associated Master's degrees which are research degrees that advance fundamental knowledge; and (2) the Master of Environmental Management (M.E.M.) degree which is a professional degree that trains students to implement fundamental knowledge and to interface between science and society. The M.E.M. is offered through the Coastal Environmental Management Program.
"Richard T. Barber, Ph.D., Stanford, 1967. Thermal dynamics and ocean basin productivity.
Celia Bonaventura, Ph.D., Texas, 1968. Structure-function relationships of macromolecules; biotechnology.
Joseph Bonaventura, Ph.D., Texas, 1968. Marine biomedicine, protein structure-function relationships.
Larry B. Crowder, Ph.D., Michigan State, 1978. Marine ecology and fisheries oceanography.
Richard B. Forward, Jr., Ph.D., California, Santa Barbara, 1969. Physiological ecology of marine animals.
William W. Kirby-Smith, Ph.D., Duke, 1970. Ecology of marine-freshwater systems.
Patricia D. McClellan-Green, Ph.D., North Carolina State, 1989. Molecular toxicology and xenobiotic metabolism by marine organisms.
Michael K. Orbach, Ph.D., California, San Diego, 1975. Application of social and policy sciences to coastal and ocean policy and management.
Joseph S. Ramus, Ph.D., Berkeley, 1968. Algal ecological physiology; estuarine dynamics; biotechnology.
Andrew J. Read, Ph.D., Guelph, 1989. Biology and conservation of small cetaceans.
Daniel Rittschof, Ph.D., Michigan, 1975. Chemical ecology of marine organisms.
