with the plants here, it enabled our 

 seafood industry to keep a lot of that 

 value here," Copeland says. "That's 

 been worth a lot of money to the state.' 



Copeland says Thomas also de- 

 serves much of the credit for the 

 variety of species the state now mar- 

 kets. Twenty years ago, only 55 

 species were harvested. 



Today, Tar Heel fishermen haul in 

 78 species of fish and shellfish, and 

 they market their catch in all corners 

 of the world. Thomas forged the way 

 for fishermen to market such species 

 as eel, squid and tuna. 



' 'You constantly have to refocus 

 your energy because the resource is 

 always changing," Thomas says. 

 "You're also working with long-term 



payoffs. You can't do these things 

 overnight. 



"Sometimes you plant the seeds for 

 a new development or technology, and 

 it's years before you see the result of 

 your work." 



Thomas' dedication to the seafood 

 industry has earned him the respect 

 of his colleagues at the university as 

 well as his clientele at the coast. And 

 his awards bear that out. 



In 1984, he received the Earl P. 

 McFee Award from the Atlantic Fish- 

 eries Technological Conference and 

 an Outstanding Extension Service 

 Award from NCSU. When Thomas re- 

 tired in December, Gov. James Martin 

 presented him with the Order of the 

 Long-leaf Pine. 



But perhaps his most coveted award 

 was one he received from the people 

 he served for three decades. In 

 December, the N.C. Fisheries Associa- 

 tion honored Thomas with a plaque of 

 appreciation for his service to the 

 industry. 



Thomas' good relationship with the 

 seafood industry has helped pave the 

 way for his successors. 



David Green, Sea Grant's seafood 

 extension specialist, says, "The rap- 

 port he developed with the industry 

 over the years has helped with our 

 continuing programs today. It's helped 

 me and others establish credibility 

 with the industry' ' 



Joe and Celia Bonaventuta 



BY SARAH FRIDAY PETERS 



After 13 years, it's still there, crunched 

 into a corner of Joseph Bonaventura's 

 pocket. 



To look at it, it's nothing special. 

 Just a piece of sponge about the size 

 of a big marshmallow and the color of 

 moss in October. 



But to talk with Bonaventura and 

 his wife, you see the sponge is a 

 dramatic symbol of the pair's accom- 

 plishments and a good luck charm for 

 their future success. 



Joseph and Celia Bonaventura, both 

 47, are world- renowned biochemists 

 who specialize in respiratory proteins. 

 At the Duke University Marine Lab- 

 oratory on Pivers Island, they probe 

 the mysteries of these biological 

 agents that use and help carry oxygen 

 in warm- and cold-blooded animals. 



Over and over again they've looked 

 at hemoglobin, the red-colored protein 

 in our blood, and similar substances 

 in fish to find ways to improve our 

 health and environment. One of their 

 first dreams was to create a device 

 that could take oxygen from seawater 

 and use it for underwater life-support 

 systems. 



The little green sponge was the first 

 step. 



In 1976, Joseph Bonaventura mixed 

 his blood with a detergent and a 

 water-loving plastic that looked and 

 flowed like honey. As the mixture 

 solidified, it formed a cherry-red 

 sponge. When the sponge met water, 

 Bonaventura's hemoglobin took in 

 oxygen — just like a fish's gills. The 

 oxygen could be released, too, with a 

 small electrical charge or when 

 washed in a special solution. 



Over the years, the original "hemo- 

 sponge' ' has turned green from oxida- 

 tion, like an outdoor statue. But with 

 its invention, the Bonaventuras real- 

 ized their dream could become reality. 



"When I made the sponge," Joseph 

 says, "I realized that it was possible to 

 take hemoglobin . . . and turn it into a 

 plastic — an item that was manipulable.' ' 



They patented the hemosponge in 

 1980. Then Duke University sold it to 

 a San Francisco-based company in 

 1983 for $1 million. 



Using these and other funds, the 

 Bonaventuras developed other products 

 and applied for at least nine more 



patents by adapting the basic concept 

 of the sponge. 



The buyer, Aquanautics Corp. , pur- 

 sued perfection of the artificial gill 

 that could take oxygen from seawater. 



So far they've come close. In January 

 1988, researchers used the gill to produce 

 enough oxygen 

 per minute for 

 two resting 

 people. 



And they 

 found that the 

 same basic 

 technology 

 behind the gill 

 could be used 

 for a variety of 

 applications 

 such as propel- 

 ling underwater 

 vehicles, supporting underwater sta- 

 tions, building portable respirators, 

 and filtering oxygen out of beer and 

 perfume before packaging to keep 

 them fresh. 



One test for NASA found that the 

 gill could be used to extract oxygen 

 for use on Mars. 



continued on next page 



'They are 

 very, very 

 innovative 

 in applying 

 marine 

 biology to 

 biotechnology." 



