The Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (CBL) is a

marine science Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of top ...

laboratory on the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

Solomons, Maryland Solomons, also known as Solomons Island, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Calvert County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,368 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, up from 1,536 in 2000. S ...

, and it is the oldest state-supported marine laboratory on the East Coast of the U.S. It was founded in 1925 in a small waterman's shack by Dr.

Reginald V. Truitt Reginald Van Trump Truitt (August 12, 1890 – April 11, 1991) was an American zoologist, Army officer, and college lacrosse player and coach. He spent his professional career studying the oyster habitat in the Chesapeake Bay. Truitt founded the ...

and is part of the

University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) is a multi-university scientific Research institute, research center within the University System of Maryland dedicated to environmental science, estuarine studies, and Oceanog ...

. As of 2013, CBL had 28 faculty members, 7 visiting PhD-level scientists, 22 students, 29 research technicians and 33 staff.; total employment by 2021 was 128, and the lab was the 20th largest employer in Calvert County The CBL campus includes 21 buildings, which include purpose built research facilities with running sea water and environmentally-controlled chambers. The Nutrient Analytical Services Laboratory is a key service lab that provides chemical analysis for samples from across the United States. The lab has other diverse instrumentation that allow its scientists to make measurements of biogeochemical constituents. One example is a stable isotope mass spectrometer, located in the Bernie Fowler Laboratory, which is named for a local politician,

Bernie Fowler Clyde Bernard Fowler (March 30, 1924 – December 12, 2021) was an American politician from Maryland. He was a Calvert County, Maryland, Calvert County Commissioner from 1970 to 1982, and served in the Maryland Senate between 1983 and 1994. Fowl ...

, who advocated for cleaning up Chesapeake Bay. Local research is supported by the research vessel RV Rachel Carson (2008), which is home ported at CBL.

Directors

* Reginald Truitt (1925–1954) * Eugene Cronin (1955–1976) * Joe Cooney (1976–1984) * Kenneth Tenore (1984–2005) * Margaret Palmer (2005–2011) * Thomas Miller (2011–2023) * Carys Mitchelmore (2023–)

Notable faculty

Robert Ulanowicz Robert Edward Ulanowicz ( ) is an American theoretical ecologist and philosopher of Polish descent who in his search for a ''unified theory of ecology'' has formulated a paradigm he calls ''Process Ecology''. He was born September 17, 1943, in ...

Margaret A. Palmer Margaret A. Palmer () is a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Entomology at the University of Maryland and director of the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC). Palmer works on the restoration of streams a ...

Jacqueline M. Grebmeier Jacqueline M. Grebmeier is an American ecologist who specializes in polar biological oceanography. Early life and education Grebmeier completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from the University of California, Davis in 1977 before enr ...

References

External links

Chesapeake Biological LaboratoryUniversity of Maryland Center for Environmental ScienceReginald Truitt papers
at the

University of Maryland Libraries The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library system in the Washington D.C.–Baltimore area. The system includes eight libraries: six are located on the University of Maryland, College Park, College Park campus, while ...

Laboratories in the United States Buildings and structures in Solomons, Maryland University System of Maryland Research institutes established in 1925 1925 establishments in Maryland {{Maryland-struct-stub