Lawrence “Larry” E. Mertens Building

Location

Mertens

Year Established

2014

Purpose

History

Lawrence “Larry” E. Mertens (1929–2017) was Florida Tech’s first marine biology instructor and significantly contributed to Florida Tech. Larry designed and ran the first summer field course for underwater photography in the Bahamas and became the instructor for the university’s first course in optical oceanography. Additionally, he was the first Florida Tech faculty member to author a college-level textbook on in-water photography. In 2015, Larry and his wife, Margarete, established the Lawrence and Margarete Mertens Endowed Fellowship to benefit graduate students in the College of Engineering and Science. Larry’s estate included a gift of $1 million to build a facility in support of ocean and marine sciences, but his total giving exceeded $2 million.