Provision of an Academic Vessel to Improve Capacities for Field Research and Training at the Shannon Point Marine Center

该合同支持购买一艘32英尺的铝制船体，船内动力研究/教学船，船舱和a型框架能够拖网，疏浚和处理海洋阵列。这艘新船将取代现有的31英尺玻璃纤维船，该船的载客、货运和起重能力不足以满足香农角海洋中心（SPMC）目前现场调查和教学活动的需求。现有的船只在可部署的挖泥船和其他海洋设备的重量方面存在严重缺陷。与旧船相比，新船的载客量将增加50%，巡航速度增加300%，起重能力增加750%。容量和速度的提高将有利于该中心的研究和教育项目，包括许多当地机构（包括三所社区学院）的学生和教师的实地考察。SPMC主持了一个由美国国家科学基金会资助的本科生研究项目，在过去的5年里，该项目支持和培训了83名学生。参加少数民族海洋科学本科项目；因此，该中心在2003年获得了卓越科学、数学和工程指导总统奖。

This award supports purchase of a 32 foot aluminum hulled, inboard powered research/instructional vessel, with cabin and A-frame capable of trawling, dredging, and handling oceanographic arrays. This new vessel will replace an existing 31 foot fiberglass vessel whose passenger, freight and lifting capacities are inadequate to meet the current demands of field investigative and instructional activities at the Shannon Point Marine Center (SPMC). The existing vessel is severely handicapped with respect to the weight of dredges and other oceanographic equipment that can be deployed. In contrast to the older vessel, the new vessel will increase passenger capacity by 50%, cruising speed by 300%, and lifting capacity by 750%. The increased capacity and speed will benefit both research and educational programs at the Center, including field trips by students and faculty from a number of local institutions, including three community colleges. The SPMC hosts an NSF sponsored undergraduate research program that has supported and trained 83 students in the past 5 years. SPMC has participated in the Minorities in Marine Science Undergraduate Program; as a result, the Center received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Math and Engineering Mentoring in 2003.