Founded in 1938, the Duke University Marine Lab (DUML) is a coastal campus located in Beaufort, North Carolina. As a field station for teaching and learning, the lab is home to undergraduates, graduates, faculty, staff, and visitors. DUML related materials are part of the Duke University Archives.
Arthur Sperry Pearse was instrumental in the establishment of the Marine Lab. He served as the lab's first director from 1938 until 1945 as well as a Professor of Zoology at Duke University from 1927 until his retirement in 1948.
Irving Emery Gray helped establish the Marine Lab and was chair of the Zoology Department at Duke University.
Marine Lab Photo Archive Flickr Site
This photo archive consists of images taken by Duke faculty, staff, and students at the Duke University Marine Lab (DUML) as well as Scott Taylor, staff photographer. The collection spans from the founding of the Marine Lab in 1938 until today. Much of the imagery focus on life at DUML, research vessels (R/Vs), field work, scientific research, and ceremonies. Additionally, images include aerial photos of DUML, images of Pivers Island maps, and a selection of DUML promotional materials.
Original formats (35mm color negatives, 35mm black & white negatives, Kodachrome color slides, color prints, and black and white prints) have been digitized as .png and .jpeg files and uploaded to Flickr. Please note, the entire image collection has not been digitized.
Do you have information about any of the photos in Flickr? This can improve tagging and image description to increase accessibility!
There are two ways you can share additional information:
The Susan Baker Reinhardt Internship
Many of the photographs and publications on this page were digitized and made accessible through the work of Susan Baker Reinhardt Interns. The Susan Baker Reinhardt Internship was established with Duke University Libraries to honor the life and memory of Sue Reinhardt and to recognize her passion for marine science and support of Duke University Libraries. After studying at the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort, NC and the School of Ocean Sciences at Bangor University, Wales, Sue earned her Bachelor of Science degree in 1979, with double majors in Marine Science and Zoology. She received her Master of Science degree in 1984 after successfully defending her thesis “Lipid Composition of Antarctic Midwater Organisms.” Her research was published in Polar Biology and Marine Biology.
Interns work at the intersection of STEM Librarianship with marine science, conservation, and climate. This invaluable work experience teaches, mentors, coaches, encourages, and empowers Duke undergraduate and graduate students for a career that partners with scientists by gaining practical experience that enables them to explore the interdisciplinary nature of marine science while also making an immediate impact on the local community.
2025-2026 Reinhardt Interns selected these as their favorite images and digitized publications.
Students and professor on Bookhout fire escape "No Boat Race"
Access spreadsheet of Duke University Bulletins: 1999 and Older
Access digitized Duke University Bulletins: 1999 and Older
Access Duke University Bulletins: 1999 to Present
Access Duke University Marine Lab Summer Session Bulletins
Pivers Island Maps
Access Pivers Island Maps in the DUL@Duke Marine Lab Flickr folder
and this June 1966 arial view
Beaufort and the Rachel Carson Reserve
Access historic images, maps, and charts of the area
provided by the North Carolina Coastal Reserve &
National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Rachel Carson Reserve Resilience Hub
Research Vessel Logs
![R/V Eastward science logs [Cs. E-9B-71 : Sta. 17029 - Sta. 17055] May 1971](https://cdn.statically.io/img/d2jv02qf7xgjwx.cloudfront.net/accounts/458652/images/download.png)
Access research science vessel logs including the R/V Eastward
that operated out of the Marine Lab from 1965-1981
provided by North Carolina Digital Collections. Transcribed data
from the research vessel logs is available at Duke Research Data Repository.
Search digitized issues of The Beaufort News from 1915–1944.
Search digitized issues of Carteret County News-Times from 1948–1963.
Search more coastal newspapers in DigitalNC.
