1955
– Florida Board of Conservation Marine Laboratory was established in St. Petersburg
1960
– Oceanographic courses began at University of South Florida’s (USF) Bayboro Campus (now the USF College of Marine Science)
1967
– Marine Science Institute was founded on the USF’s Bayboro Campus at the former US Maritime Base
1968
– Florida State Board of Conservation Marine Laboratory was renamed to the Florida State Board of Conservation Marine Research Laboratory
1969
– Florida State Board of Conservation Marine Research Laboratory was renamed to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Marine Research Laboratory
– USF Marine Science Institute doubled in size
1970
– First National Science Foundation (NSF) grant was awarded to the USF Marine Science Institute
1971
– USF Department of Marine Science was formed within the USF College of Natural Sciences
1972
– First contract from the Office of Naval Research is awarded to the USF Department of Marine Science
1978
– Florida Board of Regents designates the USF Department of Marine Science as a “Center of Excellence”
1982
– Standalone Ph.D. program in Marine Science at USF is launched
– First fellowship for a USF Marine Science graduate student established by Nelson Poynter Fund in honor of John B. Lake, publisher of the St. Petersburg Times
– Marine Science major established at Eckerd College
1983
– DNR Marine Research Laboratory was renamed the DNR Bureau of Marine Research
1986
– Gulf Oceanographic Charitable Trust endows two fellowships for marine science graduate students and USF receives the first matching funds from Florida’s new major gifts program
1988
– US Geological Survey (USGS) selects St. Pete as the home for the National Center for Coastal Geology
– DNR Bureau of Marine Research was retitled DNR Florida Marine Research Institute (FMRI)
1991
– USF Department of Marine Sciences sponsors its first Oceanography Camp for Girls
– Joint Research Facility groundbreaking with the Department of Natural Resources and the USF Department of Marine Sciences
– Tampa Bay National Estuary Program (TBNEP) was established
1993
– USF Department of Marine Science set up physical oceanography real-time system (PORTS)
– Tampa Bay Watch was founded
– Galbraith Marine Science Laboratory was dedicated at Eckerd College
– DNR Florida Marine Research Institute (FMRI) was renamed the Department of Environmental Protection, FMRI
1994
– Florida legislature provides funds for five engineering positions to establish the Center for Ocean Technology (COT) within the USF Department of Marine Science
– Tampa Bay Watch’s Grasses in Classes constructs the first nursery
1995
– The Carbon Retention in a Colored Ocean (CARIACO) Ocean Time-Series Program is established
1996
– The first live satellite television broadcasts for USF Project Oceanography are transmitted to middle schools throughout the United States
1997
– Multiagency (ONR, NOAA, NASA, EPA), multi-investigator study of Florida’s western coastal ocean begins the Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB)
1998
– Tampa Bay Watch completed the first oyster shell project at Crisp Park in St. Petersburg
1999
– USF establishes a Science Journalism Center consisting of a partnership between the Department of Marine Science and the College of Mass Communications
– Department of Environmental Protection, FMRI was retitled the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, FMRI
2000
– USF Department of Marine Science became the College of Marine Science
2001
– Peter R. Betzer named permanent Dean of the USF College of Marine Science (USF CMS)
– USF CMS faculty member Frank Muller-Karger nominated and appointed to the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy by President G.W. Bush.
2002
– USF College of Marine Science receives a Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) grant from the National Science Foundation
2003
– USF College of Marine Science becomes a member of the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education and the Joint Oceanographic Institutions
2004
– Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation, FMRI was renamed to FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI)
2005
– NOAA established operations in St. Pete
– Tampa Bay Watch Marine Education Center in Tierra Verde was dedicated
2006
– SRI International partnered with the USF College of Marine Science to begin operations in St. Pete
– USF College of Marine Science receives $8.5 million grant for advanced instrumentation from the Florida Technology, Research, and Scholarship Board
2007
– Tampa Bay Watch coordinated the largest Salt Marsh Planting in Tampa Bay History at Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve
2009
– St. Pete Ocean Team consortium was formed
– Research Vessel Weatherbird II was purchased
2010
– St. Pete Ocean Team leads response to the Deep Water Horizon disaster
– St. Pete Ocean Team Economic Impact Analysis was released
– Marine Science Job Creation Summit was held
2011
– USF St. Petersburg Department of Biological Sciences was formed
– USF St. Petersburg Health Sciences program started
2012
– USF St. Petersburg Biology program started
2014
– Marine Science was identified in the St. Petersburg Grow Smarter Strategy (economic development plan) as target industry sector
– 55 KW Solar Array Installed on Tampa Bay Watch Marine Center
2015
– Sea-grass growth in Tampa Bay was back to 1950s levels
2016
– St. Pete Ocean Team members helped found the St. Petersburg Innovation District
2017
– Research Vessel Hogarth was commissioned
2018
– Joint Institute for the Gulf of Mexico studies established by the Florida Legislature
– City of St. Petersburg approved lease to operate Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center at new St. Petersburg Pier
– Tampa Bay Watch celebrated 25 years of restoration and education
2019
– USF College of Marine Science launched new “smart city” marine science education program with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast
