Osborn Laboratories of Marine Sciences, 1948-1975

The majority of the series consists of annual alphabetical file runs of correspondence, administrative records, and topical materials from the Director’s Office of the Osborn Laboratories of Marine Sciences [OLMS]. The first few years of the files (1967-1969) contain primarily the records of OLMS Director Ross F. Nigrelli. Over time, however, a greater percentage of the material in each folder comes from George D. Ruggieri, reflecting his promotions and concomitant increased responsibilities as he rose from Research Coordinator to Assistant Director of OLMS (1970) and from that position to OLMS Director and NYA Associate Director (1973). The files for 1970-1971 are evenly mixed, and the documents in the 1972-1974 files are mostly Ruggieri’s.

The records document the early years of OLMS at the New York Aquarium in Coney Island, the scientists who worked at the labs, and their research interests and activities. OLMS research included surveys of pollution in the New York City metropolitan area, multi-generational genetic studies of specially bred fish, research into the nature of barnacle cement, and numerous studies relating to marine creatures and their metabolites as potential sources of food and drugs. These interests also expanded outside of the walls of OLMS, as is seen in the numerous files on the academic conferences, scientific advisory panels, and grant proposal reviews in which Nigrelli and Ruggieri participated. The ongoing pursuit of funds to support the Labs’ initial construction and ongoing scientific endeavors is also well-documented, with numerous records pertaining to grants from federal and private sources. The materials also document OLMS’ relationship with both the Aquarium and with NYZS in general. The files for the first few years contain significant records of the marine research laboratories before their move to join the Aquarium, especially the planning of and fundraising for the Osborn Labs building. There is a fair amount of correspondence between the Directors and the general public, especially relating to visits to the Aquarium and the Laboratories and to the medical potentials of the Laboratories’ research.

In addition to annual files, the series also includes subject files kept by George Ruggieri in his pre-Directorial position as OLMS Research Coordinator. For the most part, this material is very similar to that in the Directors’ annual files. There is particular overlap between the two sets of records on the topic of research grants from funders like the National Science Foundation, the Scaife Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Ruggieri’s Research Coordinator files likewise contain parallel documentation of professional societies, advisory councils, and outside labs in which both Ruggieri and Nigrelli took an interest, for example the Bermuda Biological Station, the Marine Technology Society, the Mayor’s Oceanographic Advisory Committee, and the New York Ocean Science Laboratory. There is also some correspondence and other documents relating to Ruggieri’s vocation as a Jesuit priest. Finally, the series contains nine 7-inch open-reel audio tapes that document an unspecified “Working Conference”—presumably of OLMS staff, post-docs, and research fellows—that took place February 8-9, 1969.