Discovery starts Here.
Welcome to the University of Texas Marine Science Institute
The University of Texas Marine Science Institute (UTMSI) is located in Port Aransas on Mustang Island and is part of the University of Texas at Austin, College of Natural Sciences. It is the oldest and most significant marine research facility on the Texas coast. It is changing the understanding of the world’s oceans and coasts and educating a global population dependent on the ocean ecosystem. What began humbly in 1941 as a small, rough-lumber shack on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico in Port Aransas is now home to cutting-edge research, education, and outreach programs.
The Institute is dedicated to research, education, and outreach as they apply to the Texas coastal zone and other marine environments. The mission of UTMSI is to improve the understanding of the marine environment through rigorous scientific investigations.
Research
The Institute is based in Port Aransas, but its scientists address issues worldwide. UTMSI’s research aims to understand the coastal zone ecosystem. Our research falls into three broad categories: biogeochemistry, fish physiology and ecology, and ecosystem dynamics.
Research
The Institute is based in Port Aransas, but its scientists address issues worldwide. UTMSI’s research aims to understand the coastal zone ecosystem. Our research falls into three broad categories: biogeochemistry, fish physiology and ecology, and ecosystem dynamics.
Education
Students enjoy our classes that take them into a variety of pristine habitats for a first-hand look at the marine environment. Graduate students working toward master’s and doctoral degrees develop their research skills alongside our world-class scientists.
outreach
Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve is a federal and state partnership that conducts research, education, and stewardship programs. The reserve is a “living laboratory” in which scientists conduct research and educators communicate research results. It is managed by UTMSI and funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The Marine Science Advisory Council
The Marine Science Advisory Council actively advises the Director of UTMSI. The council is authorized by The University of Texas System Board of Regents and appointed by the President of The University of Texas at Austin. The purposes of the Council are to further the research, educational, and service objectives of the Institute and the Department by all available means, including promoting cutting-edge research in marine science at the Institute. For more information, please contact Sally Palmer at sally.palmer@utexas.edu or (361) 728-1025.
Council Members
J. Oscar Robinson, Chair
Mary Anderson Abell
James Abell
Mary Rogers Barrett
John Bass
Alan C. Baum, M.D.
R. Michelle Beale
Allen Borden
Major Bradshaw
Charles Butt
Clinton Bybee
Mary Mortimer Campbell
John Carlson
David Coover
Ken Culbreth, Jr.
James Ehrlich
Laurens Fish, III
Ben Frishman
Ralph Gilster, III
Derek George
Valerie Urschel Guenther
Bryan Gulley
George Hillhouse
G. Joan Holt
Catherine Johnson
Tammy Rodgers King
Taddy McAllister
J McCartt
Wendy Moore
Burt Moorhouse
Meredith Morrill
George Morill II
Mark Muecke
Elizabeth Nash
Georgia Neblett
Scott Norman
D. Skipper Nelson
Robert Patton, Jr.
David Peden, Jr.
Albert Rathmell
Peter Riley
Gregg Robertson
Dale Schroeder
Joan Snyder
Kent Ullberg
John Vance
Ben Vaughan, IV
Patt Hawn Wallace
Ken Wells
A.J. Zimmerhanzel