“Students will have a vastly improved environment for carrying out their research,” says Dave Hankin, Acting Associate Dean for Marine Sciences. “And we will now be able to put on more exciting displays for visitors than we’ve ever had.”
The National Science Foundation grant for $200,000 is being used primarily for wet lab infrastructure, including tank stands, walkways, seawater pipes, and electrical upgrades. Some of the new wet lab tanks will be installed at wheelchair height, making the lab handicap accessible for the first time. Undergraduates and graduate students carry out independent research projects in the wet lab on marine organisms such as oysters, urchins, invertebrates and a variety of local fish.
“In the past, we were limited in terms of what students could do,” says Dave Hoskins, an equipment technician in the Marine Lab. “Now, students won’t have to compromise. The facilities will really be top notch.”
The $100,000 gift from the United Plankton Foundation has paid for new display tanks for the public. The foundation is a privately-funded organization that supports marine science and outreach. The new tanks will allow visitors to observe a broad array of marine life through a much larger viewing area than the previous tanks, installed in 1964.
Hankin says that this private gift influenced the NSF’s decision to make their grant. “Once they saw that we had additional support, the NSF realized that we could meet our ambitious goals for the remodel and that our HSU proposal deserved to be funded.”
“It’s gratifying to see the increased support Humboldt State has received from private donors,” says HSU President Rollin Richmond. “Gifts like these really make a difference for students, allowing us to offer them more hands-on experiences and ultimately making them better scientists.”
The Desert Community Foundation, based in Palm Desert, Calif., administered a gift of $14,500 from private donors to increase the number of study stations in the instructional lab. That included the purchase of new compound microscopes, dissecting microscopes, and lights. The foundation, established in 1999 as a public nonprofit organization, enables donors to make contributions that meet their philanthropic goals.
The Humboldt Loyalty Fund, made up of gifts from Humboldt State alumni, contributed $10,000 to purchase additional new equipment for the lab.
One hallmark of the HSU Marine Lab is the access that undergraduates and graduate students have to the research facilities. About two-thirds of the research undertaken there is done by undergraduates, while at most marine labs access is typically reserved for doctoral candidates and professors.
Located on a bluff overlooking the ocean in Trinidad, the HSU Marine Lab was established in 1964 to provide a center for marine and environmental science teaching and research. Students take classes and work on research projects there. The laboratory has a circulating seawater system, lecture rooms and labs, while the ocean, bay, and nearby lagoons provide rocky and sandy inter-tidal and sub-tidal habitats for further study.
The marine lab remains open to the public during construction. Installation of the upgrades should be complete by April 2011.