Editing Port Aransas, Texas (section)

===The University of Texas Marine Science Institute===
[[Image:UTMSI 2007.jpg|thumb|The Marine Science Institute and Visitor Center in 2007]]
In 1935, Dr. [[E. J. Lund]], a zoologist from [[the University of Texas]], traveled to Port Aransas to investigate a massive fish kill. He constructed a small, rough lumber, one-room shack on the old Corps of Engineers dock.  Dr. Lund recognized the value of the local environment and the need for public education about the natural resources of the Gulf of Mexico and gradually rekindled interest in marine science at the university.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.utmsi.utexas.edu/institute/history.htm |title=The University of Texas Marine Science Institute |access-date=2007-12-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513122531/http://www.utmsi.utexas.edu/institute/history.htm |archive-date=2008-05-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1941, [[The University of Texas Marine Science Institute]] was formed with Dr. Lund as the first director. Research began in the old pier building with one of the first projects being on the distribution, life history, and abundance of marine fishes of Texas, by Dr. Lund and [[Dr. Gordon Gunter]], who was Lund's student and later followed Lund as director. Gunter also undertook a study for the U.S. Navy on the problem of fouling on ships' bottoms.

With the end of the war, development of the institute resumed. Lund purchased and donated {{convert|12|acre|m2}}. The old [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Army Corps of Engineers]] building, constructed in 1890 and veteran of several hurricanes, was included. This building is still there today and serves as a [[dormitory]] where students relax on an old-fashioned porch and watch ships and dolphins almost at the doorstep on the Aransas Pass.

In 1946, the first permanent marine laboratory was established in Port Aransas, Texas. Two frame buildings were constructed, which still serve as the cafeteria and a dormitory, and a full-time staff was in residence. A laboratory was built on the pier in 1948 and major expansion of physical facilities took place in the 1970s with the acquisition of {{convert|49|acre|m2}} of land, additional laboratories, dormitory, apartments, maintenance complex, and a {{frac|5|1|4}}-acre boat basin.