By
Joe Beaird , Standard-Times staff writer 
NEW BEDFORD -- Acting Governor Paul Cellucci,
U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry and a host of other prominent elected officials cut the
ribbon yesterday on the $10 million UMass Dartmouth Marine Science Laboratory
that promises to energize the regional economy. The new lab at Fort Rodman in the South End will
make the university a marine research power and drive economic development in
Greater New Bedford and the Fall River area, said UMass Dartmouth Chancellor
Peter Cressy. Gov.
Cellucci praised the project, which was in the planning for 20 years, as a model
of collaboration between state, local and federal officials. A short list of the speakers hailing the opening
of the lab yesterday included U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, state Sen. Mark C.W.
Montigny, UMass system President William Bulger, Mayor Rosemary S. Tiernay,
state Rep. Antonio Cabral and Robert Karam, chairman of the UMass system board
of trustees. Most of the the local
legislative contingent and Fall River Mayor Edward Lambert also were on hand.
Gov. Cellucci called the project "a true
economic and educational partnership" that will help solve problems in local
industries such as aquaculture and fisheries management. 
Since it started operation
a month ago, the center -- which will eventually house 15 researchers and 20
support staff -- already has attracted nearly $4 million in research grants and
contracts. Continuing its support of the
center, Mobil Corp. upped its contribution to $300,000 yesterday. In turn, the
center's lobby was named in its honor.
Rep. Frank said environmental conservation and economic development could be
pursued together without contradiction, and he urged acceptance of university
research partnerships with industry.
"Understanding how the ocean works both protects it and promotes economic
development," he said, Sen. Kerry, the
senior Democrat on the Senate committee that sets ocean policy, spoke of the
dangers that confront fisheries worldwide, and the need for further research on
the sea. "We have better maps of Mars
and the moon than we do of the ocean floor," he said. Sen. Montigny praised the new center -- also
known as the Center for Marine Science and Technology -- as a way to integrate
the university into the local economy. 
He said he hopes businesses will spring up around
the center, creating new jobs. Mayor
Tierney reiterated her commitment to make the Naval Reserve Training Center
available to the university and, calling herself the "apostle of the obvious,"
noted that the project would not have come to fruition if the city of New
Bedford had not donated the land.
Discussing some of the potential research to be undertaken at the center, Dr.
Brian Rothschild, director of the marine lab, said work is under way on a
patented process to speed seafood processing. He also said satellite systems
will be used to aid fisheries management.
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