Marine Biology Grad Keith Matassa ’85 Comes Full Circle as UNE’s First Marine Mammal Rehab Coordinator

Just over two decades ago, Keith Matassa would never have dreamed of working at the school where he received his
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Keith Matassa in one of the new rehabilitation swimming tank rooms at the Marine Science Education and Research Center .
1985 bachelor’s degree in marine biology, but today, this is his reality. The University’s newest facility, the Marine Science Education and Research Center, has given him good reason to return, for Matassa has recently been hired as the marine mammal rehabilitation coordinator for the Center. His story is an inspiring one, reflecting his experiences at UNE, his reasons for returning, and his dreams for the Center’s future in science, education, and research opportunities.

As a child, Matassa had been a diehard fan of ocean science pioneer and adventurer Jacque Cousteau (now deceased), so it was a comfortable choice for him to choose the field of marine biology and pursue his passion for marine life. Matassa said he would have liked to go farther from his home in Saco, Maine, but UNE’s strong marine science program and persistent admissions department won him over.

UNE Experience
“UNE had a small-school atmosphere and gave me personal attention,” he said. That’s what he wanted, and at UNE, that’s what he got. Matassa described an example of what he loved and could only get from a college like UNE.

“It was my last semester, and I hadn’t taken invertebrate zoology yet, and I needed it to graduate,” he explained. “So Doc Samuel (Gil Samuel, now retired) graciously agreed to do a one-on-one class with me. And so I had to go into his office, sit beside him, and learn about invertebrate zoology. And that was my class. I was also heavily involved in the drama club, and we were having a party after a performance, and I felt a tug on my shirtsleeve. I turned to my left and it was Doc Samuel! ‘You have a final tomorrow. Go home and study!’ That would not happen anywhere else,” Matassa added, with a warm chuckle.

While Matassa attended UNE in the early to mid 80’s, there existed a short winter term between the fall and spring semester where a student could take just one class and concentrate on a specific area of interest. Because of this term, over the course of his years, Matassa was able to travel to the Virgin Islands and study tropical ecosystems, take up an internship at the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge on Maine’s coast, and conduct another academic internship at Mystic Marine Life Aquarium in Connecticut. He even returned to this aquarium during the summer between his junior and senior years to further his involvement with marine mammals and gain experience in the field. Matassa also volunteered his time after classes for the Maine Aquarium in Saco, working with UNE employee Hank Wheat in assessing animals for the New England Aquarium. It was through this volunteer position that Matassa landed his first job in the field as a curator of the Maine Aquarium in 1986.

Volunteerism
Matassa’s volunteer and internship experiences while at UNE were vital to his developing career. Now, 16 years later, Matassa understands why volunteerism was key to his success.

“If I were to have a job available, I would look to my volunteers first,” he noted. “If they have proven to me that they can do the job and they have the personality and the drive to do the job, then they get the job.” And that’s how Matassa started, his volunteer work priming him for a career with marine mammals and ultimately bringing him back to UNE.

In 1998, while working as the operations manager for the Marine Mammals Care Center in San Pedro, Calif., Matassa was asked by the UNE to produce a “dream wish list” for the design of the new Marine Science Education and Research Center . Among his recommendations were the pool design, operating room, and blood laboratory. Matassa was then hired by the University as the rehabilitation coordinator of the new building.

Describing the achievements of the newly built Center, Matassa said, “We’ve built the mountain. Now we have to move the mountain.” After making adjustments with the seawater intake, setting up a computerized facility operation program, and conducting countless water quality tests, the mountain, piece by piece, has been slowly, meticulously brought on-line. Now that the Center is fully operational, marine mammals in need of care are brought here from as close by as the beaches of Maine to the distant Caribbean, from where the Center’s first rehab seal was shipped.

Incredible Capabilities
Enthusiastic about the building’s incredible capabilities, Matassa makes another interesting comparison. “The blood machines are the same type used at a hospital. We can do the same thing for an unhealthy seal that the hospital would do for you if you went in and nobody knew what was wrong and you needed treatment. We’ll be able to take cultures of any body part - fluid, urine, or fecal material for bacteria and fungus. We’ll have a pharmacy on-site. We’ll be able to do our own water quality, microbiology, and surgery.”

When asked how he regarded the building from his experience working in other facilities, Matassa grinned and leaned back comfortably in his office chair. “This building is absolutely fantastic. It’s probably the most state-of-the-art building of its kind in the entire U.S.”

On the research end, the building’s capabilities will draw researchers to UNE from around the world. And on the educational front, the Center will give an already exceptional marine biology program the cutting edge in student experience and preparedness for a career. Students of the program will have opportunities for on-campus internships, gaining the skills and training that employers seek in today’s competitive job market.

Other appealing features of the building’s green design aim to reduce the energy needed for heat and lighting. Positioned with the winter sun in mind, large third-story windows let the low-angle light shine into the rehabilitation pool rooms, supplying additional warmth and light during the cold months. In the summer, when the sun is higher in the sky, the direct light is shaded from the windows, keeping the building cooler than if the light shone in. Other “green” features include radiant heat and motion lights, as well as a 1,500-gallon indoor holding tank that gravity-feeds the pools and labs, reducing the need for excessive circulation pumps. (See Green Design)

Clean Water
Several health issues are also addressed by the building, including a negative pressure airflow system so that the air from the rehab pool rooms does not flow into and contaminate any other part of the building. And for the ocean water used by the facility, Matassa explained that it will go back into the environment cleaner than when it was drawn. The water will be chlorinated before and during use in the pools and then treated to remove the chlorine, insuring that no contaminating agents or additives from the pool water are pumped into the river. “We’ll be putting water back into the river with a lower coliform count than when it was drawn,” he stated, noting how the facility will theoretically act as a biological purifier for the river water it uses.

Matassa and his staff can rehabilitate many different species of seals, as well as temporarily hold sea turtles and cetaceans as large as dolphins in order to conduct thorough medical assessments. But the rehabilitation facility is only one part of the Marine Science Education and Research Center .

“UNE is the only college campus with rehab, research, and education in one building,” Matassa proudly noted. He believes that designs of other centers constructed in the future will be influenced by UNE’s design. “My goals are to make this a fantastic stranding facility that does top-notch work, both medically and scientifically; sort of raise the bar for other rehab facilities.” Matassa also shared that he would like to have the facility play a big role in educating the public and other school children.

One of the Best
Looking back on how the marine science program has changed since he graduated from UNE in 1985, Matassa recalls how it was almost dropped from the curriculum. After traveling full-circle through his career endeavors and ending up back at UNE, Matassa sees a program that is becoming one of the best in the country. With Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences (UNE’s research affiliate) to the north, New England Aquarium to the south, and now the Marine Science Education and Research Center on-site, UNE is the most ideal location for marine biology education on the East Coast. And who would be more fitting to run the new facility than a former student?

Discussing what it’s like to return to his alma mater, Matassa noted that he is always surprised when he bumps into faculty who were teaching when he was a student. “What amazes me the most about coming back, and the hardest thing to get used to, is that a lot of the professors I had for classes are now deans, so I’m dealing with them in a whole different situation.”

Among these familiar faces are Jacque Carter, John Tumeil, and Paulette St. Ours. And there are others who are still teaching today, such as Owen Grumbling and (until this year) Gil Samuel, and Matassa enjoys seeing them around campus.

“People told me that life will sometimes return you to your roots and that life is a great big circle. I have completed the circle, and I will tell you…what a long, strange trip it’s been!”

This story was written by Matthew Bibeau ‘03.

Click for a short video interview with Keith Matassa following the Center's first seal release.    
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