ANNIVERSARY
A GOLDEN
FAU Harbor Branch marks 50 years of studying
the Earth’s oceans to ensure a better future
As Harbor Branch Oceanographic
16
FAU HARBOR BRANCH AT 50
MISSION
research arm of the State University
System of Florida.
What hasn’t changed is the enthusiasm
and dedication of its 200-plus
workforce, all linked to its mission to
help the world.
In 1965, Ed Link discovered the
channel abandoned. He operated
Sea Divers Corp. and New Marine
Science Center from 1969-1971 until
the land was purchased by J. Seward
Johnson Sr. and Harbor Branch was
established in 1971.
PARTNERSHIP BEGINS
An inventor and ocean explorer,
Link decided the land and its access
canal could be just the place for
a marine science research center he
had discussed with his colleague J.
Seward Johnson Sr. Johnson was a son
of one of the founders of the Johnson
& Johnson conglomerate. He had long
harbored hopes of using his sizable
inheritance to create a research center.
He and Link had met while serving
on the board of Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution in Massachusetts.
Right away, Link and Johnson
began buying up land around the
quarry and canal area. Eventually,
both built homes at the site.
While Johnson began recruiting
budding ocean researchers, Link
took a more practical approach —
developing the hardware needed to
Institute turns 50, its team of researchers
is focused on the critical
issues facing the Earth’s oceans,
near-shore bodies of water, its water supply
and how these impact human health and
well-being.
Harbor Branch’s mission is simple: Ocean
Science for a Better World.
“We want to help the world,” executive
director Jim Sullivan says. “More than 70%
of the Earth’s surface is ocean. Our weather,
our food, our very lives are dependent on
the ocean.”
The 144-acre FAU Harbor Branch campus,
which is on the Indian River Lagoon just
north of Fort Pierce, has undergone major
changes during its half-century lifespan. It
has been transformed from a small independently
funded outpost into an important
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BY ANTHONY WESTBURY
J. Seward Johnson Sr., right, with the help of longtime
friend Edwin A. Link, left, founded Harbor Branch 50
years ago.
James Sullivan, executive director
of Harbor Branch Oceanographic
Institute, says the research facility’s
mission is to help the world.
HARBOR BRANCH OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTE PHOTOS