A great deal of this issue of the HRI Newsletter is dedicated to the work and activities of many of our students. One important measure of our success as an Institute is the successes of the students who have been associated with HRI. Although the research projects we currently have underway are ever important, the training and education of the students involved create the framework for the research programs of the future.

Our Advisory Council members who were able to attend the December meeting of the Council got a first-hand look at some of the research programs being conducted here and the student involvement. We actually had part of the meeting in the labs so that the participants could get a better feeling of some of the research programs and the significance of them. Our M.S. and Ph.D. students together with several of our post-doctoral graduate associates did a splendid job of explaining the consequences of their work (see article on Advisory Council meeting).

The Advisory Council also got an update on the planning activities being developed by each of our major areas: Marine Policy and Law and Socioeconomics; Biodiversity and Conservation Sciences; Ecosystem Science and Modeling; Geographic Information Science and Data Management; and Oceans and Human Health.

The HRI Chair or Research Professor heading each area has assembled a planning task group to assist them in looking forward and devising a plan of action for the area. The groups have been asked to incorporate the following items in their planning activities:

• Outline the research programs that are the most promising for future development by the Institute
• Identify academic programs needed to support the program areas
• Identify support operations needed to support the program areas
• Develop anticipated budget requirements and potential sources of funding
• Outline a time table for the proposed activities

These individual plans will be combined into an overall HRI development plan for the next five-ten years.

Some of the readers may wonder why I am still writing this column as the last issue of HRI News indicated that I was going to retire on December 31st of last year. Since the search process for my successor was not along as far as I had anticipated when the end of the year appeared, I agreed to continue on until a successor has been identified. It’s been a great opportunity for me to help establish this dynamic Institute and I want to thank all involved for their support.

- Bob Furgason, Executive Director