SeaTech Dedication Ceremony

      "SeaTech positions Florida Atlantic University to claim its place among the world's leading centers of ocean engineering research," President Catanese told more than 400 community supporters gathered in the courtyard of the new $13 million facility located in Dania Beach along the Intra coastal Waterway just yards from the Atlantic Ocean. "This is going to put South Florida on the ocean technology research map."

      Keynoting the dedication ceremony was U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Paul G. Gaffney II, who heads the Office of Naval Research. "The development of SeaTech is being guided by a vision for ocean technology that is unique in this country," said Adm. Gaffney. The Navy has already entered into a strong partnership with FAU at SeaTech, committing about $6 million annually in research funding and selecting FAU to lead the seven-member consortium that will manage the South Florida Ocean Measurement Center (SFOMC).

      The SFOMC is a fully instrumented natural laboratory extending 18 nautical miles from the shoreline. Hundreds of miles of underwater cables, high-speed multiplexers, acoustic arrays and other sensors will produce a steady stream of real time data that will give researchers a comprehensive overview of environmental conditions in and above the ocean.

      In addition to FAU and the Naval Surface Warfare Center, participating organizations are the University of South Florida, the University of Miami, Nova Southeastern University, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

      To facilitate the work of the SFOMC, the Navy announced plans to build two 5,000-square-foot buildings, one immediately adjacent to SeaTech and the other just to the north at the Naval Surface Warfare Center. Additionally, the Navy intends to move the USNS Hayes, a highly sophisticated research ship, to a nearby permanent berth by 2001. The ship was docked at Port Everglades for the day's festivities and was open for guided tours prior to the dedication ceremony.

     " All of the pieces are coming together perfectly to make SeaTech the nerve center of one of the world's most advanced ocean engineering research and development complexes," said Dr. Stanley Dunn, who is director of SeaTech and chair of the Department of Ocean Engineering. "This is going to have a tremendous positive impact on Broward County and all of South Florida."

      Dr. Dunn was honored at the ceremonies by being named the first holder of the J.M. Rubin Foundation Distinguished Professorship in Engineering, which was endowed by the Rubin Foundation of Palm Beach.

      Among the speakers at the dedication ceremony were Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne, who, as a longtime member of the Florida Senate from Broward County, spearheaded the effort to secure state funding for SeaTech; former State Representative Anne Mackenzie, who carried on the same campaign in the Florida House; Hank Watson of the Board of Regents, who strongly supported the project from its inception; and Dania Beach Mayor Jim Cali, who brought the greetings of an enthusiastic city to it newest institutional resident.

      The ceremonies also included the laying of a dedication plaque marking the momentous occasion.

      SeaTech is FAU's seventh campus and its fourth in Broward County. Both graduate and undergraduate students will have the opportunity to work beside faculty members in SeaTech's labs and at sea aboard the department's research vessels. Classroom work for undergraduates will continue to be based on the Boca Raton campus, with students going to SeaTech for a senior-year capstone experience.

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