U.S. Coast Guard BMCS Gordon J. Muise recently honored three Sea Lab employees with Good Samaritan Certificates of Appreciation for their heroic rescue of a boater last summer. While on an educational cruise with students from B.C. Rain High School, Dr. John Dindo, Captain Rodney Collier and Crew Member Joseph

BMCS Muise (center) congratulates Dr. John Dindo (l) and Captain Rodney Collier (r) with a commemorative plaque.

Sullivan rescued John Owens from the waters of Mobile Bay when his boat swamped. "Your quick thinking and professional reaction to this distress prevented the loss of boat, or worse, a loss of life. On behalf of the United States Coast Guard, I commend you for your compassion and willingness to assist those in need," reads the certificate, signed by Commander James W. Stark of the USCG Group in Mobile, AL.

Many thanks to the Alabama Coastal Foundation for their establishment of a Sea Lab scholarship. To date they have raised $2,000 for a student to attend classes at the Lab for the summer. We appreciate the ACF’s commitment to environmental education in our local area.

Scott Gray, Plant Manager of DuPont Agricultural Products (l) and Dr. George Crozier.

Thanks also to DuPont Chemical for their $10,000 contribution to the Estuarium. Plant Manager Scott Gray came to fulfill DuPont's initial pledge to the facility. We appreciate their support!

The Sea Lab will miss three former employees as they move to other job opportunities. Dr. Jonathan Pennock, former Chair of
University Programs, has left to become Director of the University of New Hampshire Marine Program. Dr. Jim Cowan has moved to Louisiana State University with his wife, Sea Lab Technician Jean Cowan. We wish all of them good luck in their new positions. Dr. Ken Heck has assumed Chair of University Programs.		Dr. Jonathan Pennock (l) receives a pewter tray from Dr. George Crozier in appreciation for his work as the first ever Chair of University Programs, the DISL branch that includes college and graduate education and faculty research.

Thanks to the hardworking maintenance crew, under the supervision of Steve Ruf, the Sea Lab now has much-needed storage space, created out of the former Wet Lab on campus. The original building had the roof badly damaged several years ago during Hurricane Opal, driving the need for the new NSF-funded Wet Lab. With minimum budget and maximum effort, the operations crew converted the damaged building into a new storage facility, answering the constant need for more space at the Sea Lab.

Thanks to a generous donation of two buses from the Baldwin County Public School System, students visiting the Dauphin Island Sea Lab will be able to go on field trips to seine the marshes or catch plankton in nets. These field trips would be impossible without transportation, and the Baldwin County Schools' donation has proven timely and necessary. "Hands-on learning and being in the outdoors awaken a love of science," says Sea Lab Education Chairman Dr. John Dindo. "We are grateful to the Baldwin County Public School System for their valuable and timely donation. Now we can accommodate these requests for field trips without fear of interruption because of vehicle problems."

Members of YLM clean the marsh (photo by Robert Dixon)		Hands-on learning was the order of the day for Youth Leadership Mobile recently as they braved a chilly, windy day to clean the Living Marsh of debris at the Estuarium. They also helped restore the environmentally friendly parking lot in front of the facility.
Coming soon.. The Southeast Association of Dive Officers will be holding their Annual Meeting at the Sea Lab in the Fall of 2003, hosted by Marine Scientist Mike Dardeau. The Benthic Ecology Meetings for 2004 will be hosted in Mobile by Dr. John Valentine and Dr. Rich Aronson.

Mark your calendars for the Sea Lab's Annual Open House on Saturday, September 28. This is the only time during the year that the research facilities are open to the public; visitors will be allowed to tour the buildings and meet the scientists, who will have displays about their latest research efforts displayed. Lots of free kids activities are scheduled, as well as reduced admission to The Estuarium.

This year's Open House is especially significant as it is the Sea Lab's 30th Anniversary. More details about this event will be forthcoming!