EDGEWATER, Md. – William “Monty” Graham, a veteran marine scientist and former head of the Florida Institute of Oceanography, took over in early June as the director of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, MD.
Graham, a native of Danville, KY, spent the last four years leading the Florida institute, a 32-member consortium of universities and colleges, state agencies, industry and nonprofits, including the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. He also has worked at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and the University of Southern Mississippi.
Lonnie G. Bunch III, secretary of the Smithsonian, called Graham “an ideal fit” to lead SERC, which was established in 1965 and occupies 2,650 acres of land and 15 miles of shoreline along the Rhode and West rivers south of Annapolis.
“I am honored to join SERC and look forward to working with the talented team to deepen our understanding of environmental systems especially
as they relate to the human enterprise,” Graham said.
Graham succeeds Anson “Tuck” Hines, a marine biologist and blue crab specialist who stepped down at the end of May after 20 years as SERC’s director. During that time, Hines expanded the center’s core campus and added seven green buildings — including the Charles McC. Mathias Lab, the first Smithsonian building to earn LEED-Platinum for its construction.
Hines also launched SERC’s participatory science program, which engages hundreds of volunteers every year in hands-on science. He started work at the center as a researcher in 1979 and plans to continue his crab research as an emeritus scientist.