Making Waves and Breaking New Ground
UPDATE on the $46 Million tri-national Harte Research Institute

Since its first research cruise in 2002, the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies (HRI) has continued to broaden the scope of its tri-national collaborative effort. By building relationships between A&M-Corpus Christi scientists and some of the greatest “oceanic minds” in the United States, Mexico and Cuba, HRI is creating a phenomenal network of support. HRI’s mission is to enhance the long-term sustainable use and conservation of the Gulf of Mexico.

In April, members of the Harte Advisory Council traveled to Washington, D.C. to discuss the work of HRI with officials at a number of federal and national agencies including the Department of State and the Smithsonian Institute. Trips to Mexico and Cuba in September also provided opportunities for HRI council members to connect with key leaders in political, business and institutional organizations within the two countries. Travel to Cuba was only possible after HRI recently succeeded in obtaining a U.S. Treasury Department permit to travel to Cuba, a critical accomplishment for the joint effort to move forward.

Arrangements for the Mexico trip to Tampico and Monterrey were made by advisory council members Will Harte and Raul Rodriguez. Rodriguez, who was born in Tampico, holds a master’s degree from Harvard University. He was a professor and research fellow at his alma mater, Monterrey Tech, the largest technical university in Mexico. Rodriguez is now the managing director and CEO of the San Antonio-based North American Development Bank and the latest to join the prestigious 21-member HRI council.

Other exciting HRI accomplishments and initiatives:
Building of $18 million facility underway – a state-of-the-art three-story, 55,000 square foot building with six wet labs, two dry labs and two seawater labs; live Web cam coverage of the construction progress at http://meridian.tamucc.edu/~hricam/image.php.

Creation of GulfBase – a searchable, sortable website for all Gulf of Mexico researchers, research institutes and research projects; go to www.gulfbase.org.

Search for an HRI director and two of the six planned endowed chairs begins – first two chairs will be in marine policy and marine geographic information systems (GIS).

Launch of the Biodiversity of the Gulf of Mexico Project – the first all-species inventory of a large marine ecosystem, with plans to post it on the Internet; a part of the Census of Marine Life program at the Consortium of Oceanographic Research and Education.

Scheduled State of Knowledge Workshop – October 14-15 in Corpus Christi.

Work on “Bulletin 89: Gulf of Mexico – Its Origins, Waters, and Marine Life” – a 50-year update of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 1954 publication.

Harte Distinguished Speaker Series continues – fall and spring events to feature famous astronaut and former chief scientist at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association Kathy Sullivan, and Dawn Wright, a leader in oceanic GIS.

Plans for the first State of the Gulf of Mexico Conference in October 2005 – a major conference that will take place every five years in a city near the Gulf; will publicly address the condition and health of the Gulf.