10-17-1983 Planning Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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\cour<iging it is to k,nn of \escarch Foimddtion. I am h UU cs for your roundation. cr I may be of help. ” •I ts of Freshwater, which Institute. By the* c'lid of nearly 3.000 selected J cross section of future ilarly as the project r. 1 sj ;m I !fi the Institute: initiation and operation 1:.r' Dr. John M. Wood During 1969-1970, five detailed meetings were held to plan the Freshwater Biological Institute, carefully defining the goals and relating the facility and staffing to them. Over 125 experts from several states and Canada attended these one-day meetings, bringing with them an accumulation of thousands of years of experience from many of the laboratories and educational institutions throughout the world. These sessions, which included the architect and contractor for the proposed Institute, were led by part of the planning team that had recently programmed the landing of Neil Armstrong on the moon. Construction plans for the Institute were drawn as a result of these meetings, after visits to scientific facilities in the United States and abroad, and upon receipt of the Foundations first major dedicated contribution. Ground-breaking ceremonies in November, 1972. marked the beginning of construction on Foundation-owned property at Navarre. Minnesota, by Lake Minnetonka. Utilizing the "fast-track" technique, the facility was completed by May. 1974. on time and under budget. .V ^'St V While construction was progressing, the University of Minnesota was initiating its part of the task, which was to 1) staff the Institute with scientists and researchers who could work together in creating a multi-disciplinary approach to researching freshwater systems; and 2) specify equipment needed by that scientific team. The first position to be filled at ihe Institute was that of director. A worldwide search was conducted and English biochemist Dr. John M. Wood was chosen. Dr. Wood is noted for his work with the methylation of mercury, the biological process by which mercury is changed to a more toxic compound. Lead scientists, graduate students and fellows, visiting scientists, and support personnel swelled the ranks of the Institute. As the Institute grew, so did recognition and research support. The success of the Institute was assured. On December 9. 1976. three years ahead of schedule, the Freshwater Foundation gave the Freshwater Biological Institute, with its equipment and land, to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota, debt-free, with no strings attached. The gift was one of the largest ever made to the University of Minnesota. All funds raised by the Foundation had come from private citizens, corporations, and foundations — no state or federal funds. The gift of the facility to the University of Minnesota marked the end of more than eight years of the dreams and hard work of thousands of people who believed in a cause, accepted its challenge, and stayed with it to a successful conclusion. In 1978 the University of Minnesota renamed the Institute. It became the Gray Freshwater Biological Institute, in honor of Richard G. Gray. Sr., whose observations and concerns just ten years earlier had been the cornerstone of the creation of a unique, nationally renowned facility for fundamental freshwater research. mnuRiiM r« 4 HliWl »... J .It t i "I was pleased to be . and am pleased that t done Just an excellent facility." —The late Hubert h. University of Minnesota F plaque to an institute wai. when the Foundation pre Minnesota In July. 1974, the Fr doors. The dream ha through a multi-disci) same goal that is its freshwater systems in i Today, scientists from si research freshwater syst the accomplishments c scientists: Discovering princip the picture of frt significant and | environment. Training graduate ; from the United J become leaders in i Investigating what troublesome chemi( These findings may