HARBOR BRANCH - OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

HARBOR BRANCH MOVING FORWARD

FT. PIERCE -- Dr. Shirley Pomponi, Harbor Branch president and CEO, will be giving an update on the status of Harbor Branch research & education activities as the next speaker in the Ocean Science Lecture Series, on March 23. She will also discuss the recently released report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, and what it means for the nation, the State of Florida, and Harbor Branch.

Even while the Harbor Branch campus was closed to the public after the hurricanes, research, education, and other staff activities continued, and 2004 proved to be a dramatic year for the institution at a number of levels. There were major administrative changes, intense rebuilding efforts, and the beginnings of several new research initiatives that are closely linked to Ocean Commission recommendations.

The combined effect of these events has been a new, sharpened focus on Harbor Branch's future, which Pomponi will describe. Her talk will include such topics as expanded undergraduate and graduate educational opportunities at Harbor Branch, new research programs focused on the Indian River Lagoon, and new technology development for exploring the deep sea. Pomponi will also give a preview of how the campus will change and improve as hurricane rebuilding continues.

Dr. Shirley Pomponi has been a leader in Harbor Branch's global search for marine organisms that produce chemicals with pharmaceutical potential since 1984. She has logged more than 200 research submersible dives and led numerous expeditions to such locales as the Galapagos Islands, Australia, the Seychelles, the Canary Islands and Lake Baikal in Russia. She was also co-discover of several of Harbor Branch's patented pharmaceutical products, including discodermolide, a chemical produced by a deep-sea sponge that has shown great promise in fighting certain cancers.

Pomponi received her master's and Ph.D. degrees in Biological Oceanography from the University of Miami. She has held numerous positions in establishing federal ocean policy, including appointments to the President's Panel on Ocean Exploration and the Scientific Advisory Panel to the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. She is a member of the National Research Council's Ocean Studies Board and the U.S. Committee for the Census of Marine Life, among other influential state and national bodies. Pomponi is also a member and trustee of the Women Divers Hall of Fame.

Pomponi's talk will be held in the auditorium of the Johnson Education Center on the Harbor Branch Campus, 5600 US 1 North, Ft. Pierce, Fla. at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 23. High-res photos of Pomponi, Harbor Branch submersibles, and research relevant to the talk are available to the media upon request. Please direct press inquiries, including interview and photo requests, to Mark Schrope at 772-216-0390 or schrope@hboi.edu. General questions about the series should be directed to the Marine Education Office at 772-465-2400 ext. 506 or education@hboi.edu.

Additional events in the series will be held on consecutive Wednesdays through April 13 (see schedule below). Each talk is free to the public, and followed by a meet-the-speaker reception.

February 23 - John Reed - Deep Sea Reefs Discovered off Florida

March 2 - Edie Widder - Deep Scope: A Window into the Deep

March 9 - Megan Davis and Serena Cox - The Lobster Crawl: A Very Spiny Event

March 16 - Ned Smith - Upwelling and Downwelling in the Ocean: More Important Than You Might Have Thought

March 23 - Shirley Pomponi - After the Storms: Harbor Branch Moving Forward

March 30 - Greg Bossart - Harmful Algal Blooms, Biotoxins and Marine Mammal Mortalities: An Emerging Crisis? (Note: Lectures on this date will be at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.)

April 6 - Peter McCarthy - Marine Microbes: A New Resource for Biotechnology

April 13 - Kevin Gaines - Aquacultured Marine Ornamentals: Sustaining the Aquarium Industry

HARBOR BRANCH Oceanographic Institution was founded in Ft. Pierce, Fla., in 1971 to support the exploration and conservation of the world's oceans. The institution has held to this mission and grown into one of the world's leading oceanographic institutions with a 500-acre campus, over 200 personnel, and a fleet of sophisticated research ships and submersibles.