Renovation of Wet Labs and Cyber-Infrastructure to Enhance Integrated Research and Teaching in Aquatic Science at SUNY-ESF

该奖项是根据《2009年美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)资助的。该奖项为纽约州立大学环境科学与林业学院(SUNY-ESF)提供资金，以使水生科学综合研究与教学中心(CIRTAS)设施和千岛生物(TIBS)野外站现代化。将提供资金翻新CIRTAS的现有湿法实验室和TIBS的辅助湿法实验室，并提供网络基础设施，以更好地连接这些设施。CIRTAS是一个共用设施，位于ESF的伊利克大厅。它横跨几个部门，成立于2006年，目的是促进多学科和跨学科合作，改善研究和培训的共享资源设施，并加强主校园和附属的千岛生物(TIBS)实地站的水生研究之间的联系。TIBS是一个主要的研究和学生培训网站。CIRTAS设施和TIBS目前的实验湿实验室不足以满足当前的研究和研究培训计划。这一基础设施项目将通过以下方式极大地增强研究能力：(1)允许需要无菌和清洁技术的研究；(2)防止交叉污染，改善设施和废水的净化；(3)改善试验室的温度控制；(4)升级网络基础设施，通过在TIBS安装高速数据链路和专用线路和防火墙，允许CIRTAS托管服务器以共享数据，从而促进CIRTAS和TIBS研究团队和班级之间的合作。拟议的翻修对于成功研究将疾病、非本地物种和毒素联系在一起的生态和进化过程非常重要；它们还允许研究更广泛的生物分类范围，并使用现代示踪剂和遗传工具。改进的CIRTAS和TIBS之间的数据和电话会议连接将使研究人员能够将实地观测与对照实验研究联系起来。CIRTAS和TIBS将用于交叉培养化学、环境生物学、水产和渔业科学的研究生。这些设施目前支持对来自传统上科学代表性不足的群体的本科生的培训计划(包括本科生研究经验和环境生物学计划的本科生指导计划)。工作人员与国家机构和管理人员密切合作，将CIRTAS和TIBS的相关研究结果纳入管理计划。工作人员直接参与公共宣传，包括利益相关者和教师研讨会、公开演讲和纽约州立大学的“高中ESF”计划。随着CIRTAS增加了从TIBS现场传感器传输数据的能力，PI将增加这些设施的网络存在，包括教师的实地和实验室练习，以及为科学家和其他利益攸关方提供可搜索的实时数据。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).This award provides funds for State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) to modernize The Center for Integrated Research and Teaching in Aquatic Science (CIRTAS) facility and Thousand Islands Biological (TIBS) field station. Funds will be provided to renovate existing wet labs at CIRTAS and a supporting wet lab at TIBS, and cyber-infrastructure to better link these facilities. CIRTAS is a shared-use facility housed in ESF's Illick Hall. It spans several departments, and was formed in 2006 to foster multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary collaborations, improve a shared resource facility for research and training, and strengthen linkages between aquatic research on the main campus and at the affiliated Thousand Islands Biological (TIBS) field station. TIBS is a primary research and student training site. The current experimental wet labs at the CIRTAS facility and TIBS are inadequate for current research and research training programs. This infrastructure project will greatly enhance research capabilities by (1) allowing research requiring sterile and clean techniques; (2) preventing cross-contamination and improving decontamination of facilities and waste-water; (3) improving temperature control for experimental rooms; and (4) upgrading cyber-infrastructure to facilitate collaborations between research teams and classes working at CIRTAS and TIBS by installing a high-speed data link at TIBS and a dedicated line and firewall to allow CIRTAS to host a server for data sharing. The proposed renovations are important for successful investigations of ecological and evolutionary processes linking diseases, non-native species, and toxins; they also allow the study of a wider taxonomic range of organisms and the use of modern tracers and genetic tools. Improved data and teleconferencing connections between CIRTAS and TIBS will allow investigators to link field observations with controlled experimental studies. CIRTAS and TIBS will be used to cross train graduate students in Chemistry, Environmental Biology, and Aquatic and Fisheries Science. The facilities currently support training programs for undergraduate students from groups traditionally under-represented in science (including the Research Experiences for Undergraduates and Undergraduate Mentoring in Environmental Biology programs). The staff work closely with state agencies and managers to include relevant results from research at CIRTAS and TIBS in management plans. Personnel are directly involved in public outreach, including stakeholder and teacher workshops, public presentations, and SUNY's "ESF in the High School" program. With the additional capacity at CIRTAS for streaming data from TIBS field sensors, the PIs will increase the facilities' web presence to include field and lab exercises for teachers, as well as searchable and real-time data for scientists and other stakeholders.