FSML - Improvements in Facilities and Equipment at the Center for Ecology and Environmental Technology

该奖项为改善生态与环境技术中心(CEET)的物理结构提供支持。该空间站成立于1999年，是一个多学科的生态和环境研究和教育设施。该奖项提供的资金将用于翻新现有的实验室和温室空间，以及购买计算机和应急电力系统。资金还将用于允许在线访问空间站所在的沿海草原生态系统中发现的植物信息的现有数据库。空间站的任务是提供必要的工具和服务，以调查本地和入侵生物，它们之间的相互作用，以及它们对非生物环境的反应。该中心位于路易斯安那州沿海草原和沼泽区的中心，可以快速进入偏远和多样化的自然栖息地。CEET促进不同学科之间的合作，如生物学、数学和工程学，这可能导致研究人口和社区的新的量化和技术方法。教育努力旨在通过提供有经验的科学家、独立研究项目和结构化课程的指导来培养本科生和研究生。建站6年来，共培养本科生17名，硕士生16名，博士生16名。该中心还接待了一群群的K-12学生，他们参观了恢复的沿海草原，了解宝贵的本土生态系统，并参与栖息地恢复和鸟类繁育项目。

This award provides support for improvements in the physical structure of the Center for Ecology and Environmental Technology (CEET). The station, established in 1999, is a multidisciplinary facility for ecological and environmental research and education. Funds provided by the award will support renovation of existing lab and greenhouse space, and the purchase of computers and an emergency power system. Funds will also be used to permit online access to an existing database of information on plants found in the coastal prairie ecosystem in which the station is located. The mission of the station is to provide the tools and services necessary for investigating native and invasive organisms, the interactions between them, and their responses to the abiotic environment. The Center's location in the heart of the coastal prairie and marsh region of Louisiana allows for quick access to remote and diverse natural habitats. CEET promotes collaborations between different disciplines such as biology, mathematics, and engineering, which can lead to novel quantitative and technological approaches for studying populations and communities. Education efforts are directed towards training undergraduate and graduate students by providing mentoring with experienced scientists, independent research projects, and structured classes. In its first six years, the station has participated in training seventeen undergraduates, sixteen Master's, and sixteen Ph.D. students. The Center also hosts groups of K-12 students who visit the restored coastal prairie to learn about valuable native ecosystem and to participate in habitat restoration and breeding bird projects.