Construction of Multi-user Facility at the Southwestern Research Station

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This award supports construction of a new 1200 sq. ft. (~ 111.5 m2) multi-user facility equipped solar panels and eight computers that will provide an integrated IT support system to enhance infrastructure for research and education at the Southwestern Research Station (SWRS) of the American Museum of Natural History. The new facility will include 960 sq. feet of classroom space and 240 sq. feet of storage space for equipment used in research and instruction. The facility will increase the ability of the SWRS to accommodate existing and proposed courses and workshops. It will also enhance the activities of scientists and students that conduct research at the SWRS while promoting "green" building practices at the SWRS. The facility will double the space available for courses and workshops, and will provide visiting students and faculty access to computers with high speed internet service. The new facility will allow the SWRS to improve and expand its role as a leading center for biological research and education for scientists and educators from institutions across the country and around the world. Among other uses, the proposed facility will provide space for newly developed workshops in applied GIS and remote sensing for researchers and resource managers. Now fifty years old, the station, which is located in Portal, Arizona, has served biologists, geologists, and anthropologists interested in studying the diverse environments and biota of the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona. Use of the SWRS has grown significantly over the past decade, largely due to the growing number of courses and workshops held at SWRS and concomitant increase in housing and dining facilities. Currently, use of the SWRS is limited by the availability of space for undergraduate and graduate courses, workshops, meetings, and seminars, and by the small number of computers that are shared by up to 60 researchers and their assistants at any given time. This award will meet the critical need for new infrastructure that has resulted from the growing interest in use of the facility.