Minister for Science

Parliament House, Canberra, A .C .T. 2600. Telephone 726050

30th May, 1978.

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AIMS ACTING.DIRECTOR APPOINTED

The M in is te r f o r  Science, Senator W ebster, today announced the  appointment o f Dr. J . S. Bunt as A cting D ire c to r o f th e  A u s tra lia n

In s t it u t e  o f M arine Science a t Cape Ferguson near T o w n s v ille , North  Queensland.

This fo llo w s  the re s ig n a tio n  o f the founding D ire c to r o f  AIMS, D r. M.:. G il m a rtin , who next month w ill take up an appointm ent as D ire c to r  o f the New U n iv e rs ity  Centre fo r  Marine S tu d ies, U n iv e rs ity  o f Maine, U .S .A .

D r. B unt's appointment is e f fe c tiv e  from June 1 s t, 1978.

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Senator Webster said  D r. Bunt had an im pressive background in  marine  scien ce, both in  A u s tra lia  and overseas. He had been program le a d e r o f  the inshore p ro d u c tiv ity  group a t  AIMS since the I n s t i t u t e 's  establishm ent  in  1974 and took over as A cting D ire c to r o f AIMS f o r  f i v e  months in 1976,

when D r. G ilm a rtin  was i l l . ‘ . ’ iv'Â·Â·' . .

The im p ortan t area o f inshore ecology and p ro d u c tiv ity  encompassed both  mangrove and seagrass programs,:;each w ith  a p a r t ic u la r  relevance to  tro p ic a l and s u b -tro p ic a l marine environm ents. ‘

Senator Webster said  D r. Bunt had played a major p a rt in  a number o f  s ig n if ic a n t  in te rn a tio n a l marine science research programs and stu d ie s ,  in c lu d in g

. p ioneer studies on prim ary production through s e a -ic e  in the

A n ta r c tic , w ith  the A u s tra lia n  N ational A n ta r c tic  Research  E x p ed itio n , 1956: and l a t e r  w ith  the U.S. A n ta r c tic  Program  between 1961 and 1967.

. E s ta b lis h in g  new Research D iv is io n  on T ro p ical M arine Biology a t

U n iv e rs ity  o f Miami, U .S .A ., and helping to p io n e e r, in  association  w ith  NASA, the p ra c tic e  o f research d ivers w orking fo r  long periods  a t  depths o f up to 250 f t . , using a i r  instead o f  mixed gases, from

underwater la b o ra to rie s  and liv in g  q u a rte rs . .

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. A d vis in g , a t  the in v ita t io n  o f UNESCO on mangrove resources

in  Papua-New Guinea.

. A s s is tin g  U.S. Atomic Energy Commission during th e establishm ent  o f the f i r s t  commercial atomic re a c to r a t  Biscayne Bay, M iam i,  p a r t ic u la r ly  in  the area o f thermal impact on the inshore coastal

environm ent. . ;

D r. Bunt was born in  Melbourne, and took both his b a c h e lo r's  degree and  Ã¢ÂÂ¢ d o c to ra te  a t th e U n iv e rs ity  o f Sydney. He has published more than 60

a r t ic le s  in  p ro fessio n a l and s c ie n t if ic  jo u rn a ls , w ith  another 11 in

p re p a ra tio n  submitted o r in  press from c u rre n t s tu d ie s .

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