Mathias Medal 1994
L. Eugene Cronin

Gene Cronin, 1917-1998

L. Eugene Cronin has been a student of the Chesapeake Bay and other estuaries since 1940. He is a zoologist by education, but has spent most of his career in administration. His home was in Aberdeen, MD, his undergraduate education at Western Maryland College, and graduate research at the University of Maryland.

His research and publications have been related to the biology of blue crabs, fish, oysters, and zooplankton and to the problems of pollution, resource management and the deterioration of' the Chesapeake Bay.

He directed the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory of the University of Maryland for 20 years, established the Marine Laboratory of the University of Delaware, and directed the Chesapeake Research Consortium for 7 years. The Consortium comprised the Johns Hopkins University, the University of, Maryland, the Smithsonian Institution and the Institute of Marine Science of the College of William and Mary. He served as Liaison Scientist for the U. S Office of Naval Research, visiting marine laboratories throughout Western Europe.

Dr. Cronin has served on the Marine Board of the National Research Council, chaired the Environmental Advisory Board of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, and has been on a large number of local, national and international commissions and boards. He has been a consultant for 15 agencies and institutions. He works now as a coastal consultant and lecturer.

In professional affairs, he has been President of the National Shellfisheries Associations, Atlantic Estuarine Research Society, and the internationa1 Estuarine Research Federation. He has had a long association with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and other organizations. He received an honorary doctorate from Western Maryland College and awards from a variety of sources, including the Isaac Walton League of America, the Oyster Institute of North America, Office of Naval Research, the Army Corps of Engineers, the American Motors Conservation Award, Chesapeake Appreciation Days, and as an honorary "Admiral of the Chesapeake Bay."

Present interests have reverted to the problems of effective management of the blue crab, the Chesapeake's greatest living resource, and the preservation of important natural areas. His principal hobby is the collection of working duck decoys from the Chesapeake area and other coastal sites.

Dr. and Mrs. Cronin reside at Bay Ridge, near Annapolis, MD.