MIT Sea Grant

In 1968, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology received its first funding from the National Sea Grant College Program, administered through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. MIT was designated as a Sea Grant College in 1976. MIT Sea Grant is one of 34 university-based Sea Grant programs, encouraging local coastal and ocean stewardship and building collaborative infrastructures with academic, industry, government and non-governmental partners. We promote the conservation and sustainable development of marine resources through conducting and supporting research, advancing technology, and developing education and outreach programs. OUR MISSION STATEMENT Our mission is to conduct and support research and develop technology to enable scientific investigation into problems surrounding the ecosystem health and human use of coastal and marine environments. Our education and outreach efforts disseminate the results of our MIT Sea Grant-funded research, and research conducted by our AUV Lab and Advisory staff in collaboration with industry, state and federal partners. These stakeholder engagement, education and outreach efforts are meant to encourage stewardship and implementation of sustainable and useful technologies that help answer management questions in support of public policy and industry through the use of relevant, evidence-based and scientifically sound information. Efforts in research, education, and outreach are designed to address critical marine and coastal issues at the state, regional, national and global levels that have been identified by Massachusetts constituents and which are within the areas of focus for the National Sea Grant College Program. The goals of the focus areas shape priorities for our annual solicitation to fund new proposals, and they guide us in both the short- and long-term toward projects whose success can best serve our constituents, reviewed and in agreement with our Advisory Committee.