FSML: Improvements in Computer Connectivity and Auxiliary Power at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences

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This award provides partial support for improvements in the electrical systems and communications infrastructure at The Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, an independent, non-profit oceanographic institution and marine laboratory. The improvements include installation of fiber optic cabling that will provide high-speed digital connections between the administration building and the five outlying buildings at the Laboratory's site on McKown Point. Currently, a majority of the research staff does not benefit from the speed of the laboratory's T1 connection due to the lack of fiber-optic connections between the various outbuildings and the hub in the administration building. The integrity of the Laboratory's power system will be protected from power outages by the addition of a new 100kW auxiliary power generator that will augment limited back-up power currently provided by an existing 37kW generator. This addition will provide a reliable supply of electricity needed to maintain instrumentation, computers and large numbers of sensitive living, refrigerated and frozen materials stored at the Laboratory. Major activities that will benefit from both improvements include the Provasoli-Guillard National Center for the Culture of Marine Phytoplankton, an NSF-supported collection of marine algae, and the J.J. MacIsaac Facility for Flow and Imaging Cytometry, which serves users at other institutions as well as those at The Bigelow Laboratory. The improvements in communications is also expected to facilitate educational use of the laboratory's facilities, which has increased significantly in recent years.