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[Page S6088]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
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TRIBUTE TO DR. EDWARD C. MONAHAN
Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize Dr.
Edward C. Monahan, a professor at the University of Connecticut and
longtime director of Connecticut Sea Grant.
Throughout his two decade tenure as director, Dr. Monahan positively
transformed Connecticut Sea Grant, which is an integral part of a
national network of programs that strive to protect and enhance our
coastal and marine ecosystems through outreach, education, research,
and technology. His remarkable work and visionary leadership secured
vital funding for initiatives that improved the water quality in the
Long Island Sound and helped establish a full-fledged Sea Grant College
Program in our State.
Dr. Monahan demonstrated his excellent qualities as a leader through
his decisive problem solving and readiness to find and implement
solutions to critically important issues. A notable example came in
1999, when the Long Island Sound faced lobster die-off, an
unprecedented disaster for the sound's resources. He responded
immediately by awarding development funds for pathobiologists to
investigate the cause. The issue turned out far more complicated than
initially expected, but Dr. Monahan smartly worked to allocate $3
million in Federal disaster relief funds to investigate the source.
Over 3 years, 65 researchers at 30 institutions too part in 21 lobster
research projects. This research helped uncover essential information
for lobster biologists and led to changes in State and local pesticide
usage for mosquito control.
One of the other landmarks of Dr. Monahan's directorship was his
expansion of Sea Grant's international collaboration. Recognizing the
advantages of overseas partnerships, Dr. Monahan worked with
universities and government agencies to forge new connections that
would support the exchange of innovative marine education, research,
and technology. Impressively, he launched the Irish-American
Aquaculture Initiative. This initiative launched a formal collaboration
between Northeast United States Sea Grant programs and universities in
the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Dr. Monahan also helped
to establish relationships with Sea Grant activities in Mexico, Chile,
China, and Germany, which set a new standard for international
cooperation.
Among his many accomplishments as director of Connecticut Sea Grant,
Dr. Monahan also served on the Sea Grant Association, a nonprofit that
organizes events at the national level and advocates for better
understanding, use, and conservation of natural resources. Thanks to
his outstanding efforts, Sea Grant has developed into an even more
successful program. In recognition of his immense and ongoing
contributions, the Sea Grant Association awarded Dr. Monahan its
prestigious President's Award in 2000 and 2001, along with its
Distinguished Service Award in 2005.
I applaud his lifetime of dogged commitment to Connecticut's coastal
and marine health and hope my colleagues will join me in thanking Dr.
Monahan for his extraordinary contributions to the marine
sciences.
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