NSU to Host Grand Opening of Premiere Coral Reef Research Center

(Photo caption: NSU’s $50 million Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Ecosystems Research is a world-class research facility and award-winning architectural gem.)

Nova Southeastern University will host a grand opening ceremony on Sept. 27 for the nation’s largest coral reef research center, the Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Ecosystems Research. The 86,000-square-foot facility where NSU scientists conduct local, national and global reef research is located at NSU’s Oceanographic Center at John U. Lloyd Beach State Park.

The Sept. 27 grand opening ceremony begins at 3:30 p.m. Attendance is by invitation only, but the event can be viewed via live streaming on main campus at the Knight Auditorium inside the Carl DeSantis Building; Oceanographic Center; NSU campuses in North Miami Beach (Tech Auditorium), Jamaica, Miramar (room 314), The Bahamas (Freeport and Nassau), Puerto Rico (Ponce); and NSU Student Educational Centers at Kendall (room 309), Orlando (room 129), Palm Beach (room 210), Tampa (room 2017), Fort Myers (room 108), and Jacksonville (room 316).

At a cost of $50 million, the Center has created 22 new academic jobs and 300 construction jobs; and will employ 50 graduate students as well as preserving 22 existing academic jobs. NSU received a $15 million competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce (using money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) to build the Center, while the university funded the rest of the project.

“By opening this state-of-the-art facility, NSU is taking a leadership role in Florida’s marine science research and helping to boost an important multibillion-dollar coral reef industry that employs thousands of South Floridians and sustains many small businesses,” said NSU President George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D. “The research Center is critical for the environmental sustainability of coral reefs, which are the life blood of our region and oceans, and their ecosystems.”

The grant was one of 12 awarded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). NSU’s Center of Excellence will be the largest research facility in the nation solely dedicated to coral reef ecosystems research.

The Center’s location is ideal because 84 percent of the nation’s reefs are located in Florida. These are incredibly valuable resources both in terms of economic impact and ecological diversity. Roughly 25 percent of the oceans’ fish species emanate from coral reef habitats. The multi-disciplinary Center will generate information and research products to help understand, conserve, and protect coral reef ecosystems. In South Florida alone, coral reef ecosystems contribute over $6 billion and 71,000 jobs annually. Themes of research conducted at the Center include national and international priorities in coral reef research in five areas: 1) Impacts of global and local stressors; 2) Geospatial analysis and mapping; 3) Deep sea coral reefs and biodiversity; 4) Genetic and genomic connectivity; and 5) Hydrodynamics.

The building has offices, laboratories, an 85-seat auditorium, a library, and space for research training and fieldwork staging.  It is designed to promote research by current and new faculty, researchers, visiting scientists, post-doctoral fellows and graduate students.

Faculty and staff are invited to view the Center during the next Academic Fest (details to follow).

For more information, please visit the Center’s website at http://www.nova.edu/ocean/excellence/. Students interested in learning more about the Center should contact Missy Dore at missy@nova.edu.