UNCW Center for Marine Science History

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Undated poster about research at UNCW's Institute of Marine Biomedical Research
Courtesy of the Center for Marine Science

The Center for Marine Science's origins can be traced to the opening of the Wrightsville Marine Biomedical Laboratory (WMBL) on September 24, 1965. WMBL was a collaborative venture of the Schools of Medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill, Wake Forest, and Duke University. It was housed within the Wrightsville Pediatric Research Institute--the medical research division of Babies Hospital, located near Wrightsville Beach and overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway.

In 1966, director Ralph W. Brauer moved WMBL across the street from the pediatric hospital. UNCW acquired the research center in 1971, and it was renamed the Institute of Marine Biomedical Research (IMBR). In 1986, it became the Center for Marine Science Research. With the move to new facilities at the Myrtle Grove location in 2000, the name was shortened to the Center for Marine Science (CMS).