MRI-R2: Acquisition of Instrumentation in Support of Terrestrial, Nearshore and Marine Ecosystems Collaborative Research at the University of Alaska Southeast

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)提供资金的。NSF MRI-R2计划的资金已授予阿拉斯加东南大学(UAS)，用于购买分析设备，以建设生态研究的能力。新设备包括荧光分光光度计、离子色谱系统、质谱仪、高速离心机、火叶绿素分析系统、qPCR系统、组织裂解器和PCR机。新仪器支持的研究包括：污染物迁移和衰减；有机和无机营养循环和有效性；海洋大型植物的生理生态学；甲壳类生理学研究。总体而言，这些设备对推动阿拉斯加东南部生态多样性的生物和化学过程进行了详细和综合的评估。UAS的科学教员认识到，偏远和局部的变化会影响阿拉斯加东南部的生态系统，而这些影响又会影响阿拉斯加的经济。新的仪器促进了跨学科研究，并培育了一种变革性的研究计划，有助于实现经济上多样化、可持续和可行的阿拉斯加生态系统。UAS教师致力于扎根于其独特的自然环境的项目，以及在这些项目中使用技术，以扩大学生体验的范围和适用性。在生物学和环境科学方面由教师指导的本科生研究是实现这些承诺的主要机制。新的仪器进一步扩大了UAS本科生的科学研究机会。此次收购还促进了对设备的培训，这些设备已经成为以科学为基础的职业生涯中的标准。UAS是陆地和近岸生态系统多学科研究的理想地点，尤其是气候变化的调查，因为这一当代问题将对高纬度产生最直接的影响。需要训练有素的科学家探索这些地区不断变化的自然过程，这一点至关重要。由新设备实现的研究结果将发表在同行评议的期刊上，并通过学生和教职员工在区域和国家会议上的陈述进行传播。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Funds from the NSF MRI-R2 program have been award to the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) for the purchase of analytical equipment that builds capacity for ecological studies. The new equipment includes a fluorescence spectrophotometer, an ion chromatography system, a mass spectrometer, a high speed centrifuge, a FIRe chlorophyll analysis system, a qPCR system, a tissueLyser and a PCR machine. Research supported by the new instruments includes: contaminant transport and attenuation; organic and inorganic nutrient cycling and availability; physiological ecology of marine macrophytes; and crustacean physiology studies. Collectively, the equipment provides for detailed and integrated assessments of the biological and chemical processes that drive the ecological diversity of southeastern Alaska. The science faculty at UAS recognizes that remote and local changes affect southeast Alaskan ecosystems and these impacts in turn affect the Alaskan economy. The new instrumentation facilitates cross-discipline studies and cultivates a transformative research program that contributes to economically diverse, sustainable and viable Alaskan ecosystems. The UAS faculty is committed to programs rooted in its unique natural setting as well as the use of technology in these programs that augment the scope and applicability of the student experience. Faculty-mentored undergraduate research in biology and environmental science is been a primary mechanism for fulfilling these commitments. The new instrumentation further expands scientific research opportunities for undergraduates at UAS. The acquisition also fosters training on equipment that has become standard in science-based careers. UAS is ideally situated for multidisciplinary studies of terrestrial and near-shore ecosystems and in particular, for investigations of climate change since this contemporary issue will have its most immediate impacts at higher latitudes. The need for adequately trained scientists pursuing explorations of the changing natural processes of these regions is critical. Results from the research enabled by the new equipment will be published in peer-reviewed journals and disseminated through student and faculty presentations at regional and national meetings.