Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University, also commonly referred to as HBOI or HBOI at FAU, is a non-profit oceanographic institution operated by Florida Atlantic University in Fort Pierce, Florida, United States. HBOI traces its history to a 1971 entity which was merged into FAU in 2007.
HBOI was founded in 1971 by J. Seward Johnson, Sr. in collaboration with Edwin A. Link as a non-profit research organization, then known as Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution.
In December 2007, HBOI merged with FAU and took its current name. To fund the acquisition, the State of Florida allocated $44.6 million in one-time construction costs plus $8.5 million in annual operating funds.
HBOI is located on a 146-acre (0.59 km2) campus along the Indian River Lagoon north of Fort Pierce, Florida.
HBOI research and education focuses on biological oceanography, estuarine to deep sea ecology, aquaculture, discovery and development of natural products for medicines and other uses, and ocean engineering. Its staff includes more than 160 scientists, engineers, mariners, and support personnel. Funding sources include grants and Florida state educational and general funds, Florida specialty license plates, donations, and other institutional support. Institute assets include the Johnson Sea Link submersible, capable of reaching more than a half-mile under the ocean, and libraries of marine sponges and microbial creatures numbering in the tens of thousands.
Since August 2007, HBOI has been home to Westwood High School’s Marine and Oceanographic Academy (MOA), a magnet school with a diverse student body from across the St. Lucie County School District. The school, formed through a partnership between HBOI and the school district, infuses a marine and oceanographic focus into the core high school curriculum.
Since May 2009, HBOI has been the headquarters of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research & Technology (CIOERT), which is co-managed by University of North Carolina Wilmington and includes partners SRI International, the Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science, and the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Science. CIOERT priorities include development of advanced underwater technologies, exploration and research of frontier regions of the eastern US continental shelf and beyond, improved understanding of vulnerable deep and shallow coral ecosystems, and improved ocean literacy.
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