Building Renovation for New Meeting Facility at Konza Prairie Biological Station

该奖项为堪萨斯州立大学Konza Prairie生物站(KPBS)一座历史悠久的两层石灰岩谷仓的底层重大内部翻新提供部分支持。翻修后的大楼将在这个3500公顷的高草草原保护区提供一个会议设施和多用途空间，用于研究、科学教育和公共宣传计划，致力于基础生物研究、草原生态系统的长期生态研究、科学教育和保护。机构资金将支持改善供暖和制冷系统，以及修改地板和其他结构特征。NSF提供的资金将用于建造一个具有现代视听和电信能力的大型会议/报告厅，以及第二个稍大、用途灵活的会议室、储藏室和厨房空间，以及通往二楼的楼梯。供暖、制冷和电力供应方面的这些和相关改进所需的额外资金将由该机构和一名私人捐助者提供。KPBS在研究项目、国内和国际合作和学术交流以及K-12和中学后科学教育项目方面经历了显著的扩张。总体而言，这三个领域的扩展大大增加了对现场设施的需求，用于会议、讲座、研讨会以及正式和非正式的网络、通信和互动。翻新后的空间将与空间站其他历史建筑的石灰岩建筑很好地融合在一起。KPBS拥有大片受保护的天然草原、河岸森林和溪流栖息地，为研究广泛的生物和生态过程提供了机会。目前，在空间站的场地上进行了131个注册的研究项目，涉及35名堪萨斯州立大学的研究人员和58名来自其他机构的访问科学家。现有的空间站设施包括Hulbert中心，该中心有一个图书馆、小教室、教学实验室、办公室、植物标本馆和昆虫收藏，以及可容纳13名游客的宿舍。其他车站建筑包括一座带有计算机室和研究人员工作室的实验室建筑、一座消防站和维护楼、一座设备储存楼、两间两居室的客房和一座供现场工作人员居住的小住宅。实验设施包括在不同长期规定的火力和放牧处理组合下维护的60个流域处理地块，用于放牧研究的几个围栏和围栏，一个专门用于小型小区实验和地下生物和过程研究的区域，以及几个用于草原恢复研究的田地。KPBS的这一新设施将对支持空间站研究和教育计划的持续发展具有重要价值，因为它们在跨学科广度和参与水平上有所扩大。这一改造将为草原生态系统和环境变化的长期科学研究提供宝贵的支持，同时也为继续发展环境生物学本科培训计划和高质量的K-12科学教育计划提供必要的设施，以服务于高度多样化的地区学生群体。

This award provides partial support for a major interior renovation of the ground floor of a historic, 2- story limestone barn at the Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS) of Kansas State University. The renovated building will provide a meeting facility and multi-use space for research, science education, and public outreach programs at this 3,500 hectare tallgrass prairie preserve dedicated to basic biological research, long-term ecological research on grassland ecosystems, science education, and conservation. Institutional funds will support improvements in heating and cooling systems, and modification of the flooring and other structural features. Funds provided by NSF will be used to construct a large meeting/lecture room with modern audio-visual and telecommunications capabilities, and a second, slightly larger, flexible-use meeting room, storage and kitchen spaces, and stairs to the second floor. Additional funds required for these and related improvements in heating, cooling and electrical supply will be provided by the institution and a private donor. KPBS has experienced significant expansion in research programs, national and international collaborations and scholarly exchange, and K-12 and post-secondary science education programs. Collectively the expansion in these three areas has substantially increased the need for on-site facilities for meetings, conferences, lectures, seminars, and formal and informal networking, communication, and interaction. The renovated space will integrate well with the architecture of the other historic limestone buildings of the station. KPBS has extensive areas of protected native grassland, riparian forest, and stream habitats that provide opportunities for study of a wide range of organisms and ecological processes. Currently, 131 registered research projects are conducted on the station's grounds, involving 35 Kansas State University researchers and 58 visiting scientists from other institutions. Existing station facilities include the Hulbert Center, which houses a library, small classroom, teaching laboratory, offices, herbarium and insect collections, and dormitory housing for 13 visitors. Other station buildings include a laboratory building with computer room and researchers' shop, a fire station and maintenance building, equipment storage building, two 2- bedroom guest cottages, and a small residence for on-site staff. Experimental facilities include 60 watershed treatment parcels maintained under different long-term prescribed fire and grazing treatment combinations, several enclosures and exclosures for grazing studies, an area dedicated to small-plot experiments and studies of below-ground organisms and processes, and several fields used for grassland restoration studies. This new facility at KPBS will be of significant value in supporting the continued development of the station research and education programs as they expand in interdisciplinary breadth and in their level of participation. This renovation will provide valuable support for long-term scientific study of grassland ecosystems and environmental change, and while also providing essential facilities for continued development of undergraduate training programs in environmental biology and high quality K-12 science education programs that serve a highly diverse regional student population.