A small man-made satellite rocketed into orbit in 1957. With Sputnik, the 

 Soviet Union propelled a lackadaisical America into action. ■ First, there was 

 a push to get a U.S. satellite in space. ■ Then, a young, enthusiastic John F. Ken- 

 nedy challenged the nation. Not only will we put a man in space, he said, but we will 

 lead the world in scientific discovery. ■ The early 1960s brimmed with optimism. 

 It was a time of new frontiers. One of those was the ocean. ■ Athelstan Spilhaus 

 got caught in the fervor. Dean of the University of Minnesota Institute of Technology, 

 Spilhaus conceived the notion of a program to help the nation tap its ocean resources. 



■ His notion became a reality in 1966, when Congress passed a bill creating a 

 national Sea Grant Program. Sea Grant would be a university-based system combin- 

 ing research, extension and education. ■ Under the umbrella of a national office 

 in Washington, programs were developed in every state that fronted the ocean or 

 Great Lakes. There are 31 in all. ■ Using federal and state dollars, the programs 

 tackle the nation's most pressing coastal problems— pollution, development, erosion, 

 seafood utilization and fluctuating fisheries stocks. ■ Sea Grant programs provide 

 grants to university researchers. And they employ extension agents to relay the results 

 to the public. ■ In North Carolina, Sea Grant has been solving marine problems 

 for 17 years. ■ In 1988, we will spend $1.8 million on 25 research projects, 1 edu- 

 cation project, a crew of 12 extension agents and a handful of administrators. Na- 

 tionally, the program is budgeted at $39 million. ■ You may never see the genius 

 of our researchers at work, but their findings will have you eating a better fish stick, 

 catching more crabs and clamming in cleaner waters. ■ At University of North 

 Carolina laboratories, researchers will find new ways to detect harmful viruses in 

 oysters and clams. ■ Near the dunes at Nags Head, coastal engineers will study 

 the effects of erosion. ■ And on farmland in Hyde County, soil scientists will look 

 at ways to keep farm runoff out of the estuary. ■ This month, Coastwatch will 

 * introduce you to our new research projects. 



