Marine Institute feels economic crunch
September 23, 2009 by JULIA CARPENTER
Filed under News
With the prospect of even greater budget cuts to come next year, the University’s premier oceanic research lab is hoping to keep its head above water.
“Given the current budget meltdown across the state, new initiatives are rare . we’re scratching and clawing to keep the things we already have,” said William Miller, director of the University’s Marine Institute at Sapelo Island.
About 50 classes of students come to the island each year, usually on trips with teachers to get experience in the field.
Merryl Alber, associate professor in the department of marine science, said the state budget cuts have hurt Sapelo Island programs, but the Institute still remains invaluable to the University. She said she takes her marine science classes on a trip to Sapelo each spring to give them hands-on experience.
“It’s their actual chance to see the organisms and get a better understanding of what was said in lecture,” Alber said.
Students can closely interact with resident researchers to further their understanding of classroom studies, making discoveries and forging connections that may help them later in their careers.
“Many folks don’t realize just how dependent the U.S. has become on its research universities, since the private sector has to a very large degree abandoned basic research in favor of applied work,” said David Lee, vice president for research at the University. “Discoveries from basic research are the feedstock of applied research and the private sector understands the value of our research universities.”
To obtain some of the federal stimulus money allotted for increased energy efficiency, the Marine Institute has drafted the “Green Sapelo proposal,” a plan aiming to initiate the use of geothermal energy on the island and consequently save up to 50 percent on energy costs. The proposition is in the planning stages, at one point tagged for $1.3 million, and is awaiting funds.
Limited access to the island ensures that Sapelo is mostly free from human development. At the Institute, students work to view all problems from a systems approach, trying to understand any one thing given the context of the whole.
“It’s not just a Walt Disney kiosk of science,” Miller said. “It’s not just a research lab. Students in class interact with the scientists. It’s bug bites and mud – and some kids will hate it. But you never know which student might be the one with the light bulb that switches on.”
