Dauphin Island Sea Lab Executive Director Dr. John Valentine Visits Rotary

This week the Rotary Club of Birmingham welcomed Dr. John Valentine, Executive Director of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. Dr. Valentine shared an overview of the center that aims to provide transformative leadership in the fields of marine research, education and community engagement through undergraduate and graduate research, K-12 education, professional development, and its public aquarium. The 32-acre campus is situated in coastal Alabama between Mobile Bay, the Mississippi Sound and the Gulf of Mexico.

"Because the planet’s environments are changing so rapidly and, in many ways, unpredictably, it is of critical importance that we better understand how natural processes work in the world’s oceans,” Dr. Valentine said. “It's here at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab that we bring together scientists, educators and interested members of the community to study how the environment is shifting and affecting our ocean resources. In doing this, we are better able to make robust projections about how future ocean conditions will be."

He explained the importance of the data DISL research provides and expressed relief that Hurricane Ida tracked away from the facility. He shared concerns for environmental impacts along the coast as well as plans to modernize and rebrand the facility as the "Official Aquarium of Alabama."

"Alabama has remarkable natural resources--forests, fresh water, biological diversity of fishes, birds, you name it. We're really a great place for nature lovers...This aquarium emphasizes our story."