Improvements in Facilities for Field Research, Education and Marine Operations at the Great Lakes WATER Institute

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The University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee (UWM) is awarded a grant for the conversion and renovation of approximately 4,000 GSF of floor space into a field research operations, staging and sample processing facility for ?Water, Environment, and Technology?. This field facility will provide: direct access to the dock with overhead door and platform lift; direct access to boat storage yard with overhead door and vehicle ramp; facilities for mobilization, storage, maintenance, cleaning, and isolation of nets, buoys and other field gear; an open field laboratory bay for sample processing and analysis; and adjacent temporary aquaria tank space for holding collected specimens. It will also assist with funding for the conversion of the existing smaller staging area into a new instructional laboratory which the Institute currently lacks. The UWM Great Lakes Wisconsin Aquatic Technology and Environmental Research (WATER) Institute is the only oceanographic-scale research dock on Lake Michigan that is active year round. The facility houses the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Center for Great Lakes Studies and serves as a base for UW research vessels and scientists from other campuses. Broader Impacts:The proposed new space at the WATER Institute would support anticipated growth in educational and outreach activities. Programs that would be developed or expanded upon include: Partnership with Discovery World, Partnership with Milwaukee Public Museum/JASON Project, Parnership with Urban Ecology Center and others listed in the body of the proposal. The urban location of the WATER Institute provides an opportunity to engage underrepresented groups and groups from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. In addition, the long-running REU program provides opportunities for undergraduates. Other educational/outreach programs have suffered from lack of teaching space, and most programs, e.g., JASON, UEC, SSCHC, COSEE, indicate an interest in participating more, once the space is made available.