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 Tuesday, September 15, 2009 U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke Breaks Ground on Major San Diego-Area Recovery Act Project $100 million in Recovery Act dollars to go toward state-of-the-art facility on Scripps Oceanography Campus to create local jobs Scripps Institution of Oceanography / University of California, San Diego U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Mayor Jerry Sanders led a groundbreaking ceremony in La Jolla, Calif., today for two new buildings dedicated to ocean science on the campus of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. The project is a major groundbreaking in California under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The buildings are supported by two federal agencies - the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) - and will feature state-of the-art marine life tanks and cutting-edge science labs. Tony Haymet, Ph.D., director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, Patrick D. Gallagher, Ph.D., deputy director of NIST, and Margaret Spring, chief of staff of NOAA, were also on hand for the event. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke led a groundbreaking event for two new buildings dedicated to ocean science on the campus of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego on Sept. 15, 2009. Consstruction of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center is scheduled to begin Oct. 2009 and the Marine Ecosystem Sensing, Observation, and Modeling (MESOM) Laboratory in 2011. Over $100 million in funding from the Recovery Act advanced construction plans for the first building, a world-class NOAA facility. The Recovery Act funds going to NOAA support the largest stimulus construction project in the San Diego area for the Commerce Department and will contribute to the creation of local construction jobs. NIST awarded $12 million to Scripps toward the construction of the second building, a new laboratory for research on marine ecosystem forecasting. "The two new laboratory buildings at Scripps Oceanography, supported by the U.S Commerce Department, will greatly enhance our valuable collaborations with NOAA and NIST," Haymet said. "Scripps scientists will be able to advance scientific research to address the vital concerns of marine resource management and marine ecosystem forecasting for the benefit of society and the environment." NOAA -- Southwest Fisheries Science Center: NOAA's new research facility will replace the existing Southwest Fisheries Science Center, which was partially vacated in the summer of 2008 due to continued bluff erosion. When completed, the new 120,000-square foot facility will house up to 300 staff members in laboratory, office and support space.  Rendering of the new NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center on the Scripps Oceanography campus. NIST -- Marine Ecosystem Sensing, Observation, and Modeling (MESOM) Laboratory: Scripps has been awarded $12 million by NIST toward construction of a new $26 million laboratory building on its campus for research on marine ecosystem forecasting. The MESOM Laboratory will enable Scripps to consolidate researchers from a variety of disciplines - who otherwise would be split among five or more different buildings - in a single dedicated facility to promote more productive discussions and interactions.  An architect concept of the new Scripps Marine Ecosystem Sensing, Observation, and Modeling (MESOM) Laboratory. This new building will become a resource for marine ecological research at Scripps and for other national and international ocean science organizations that address the management of marine resources. The new facility will enable Scripps scientists to build upon a long history of successful research on marine ecosystems and their response to climate variability and change and to develop a new program that will provide the scientific foundation for marine ecosystem forecasting. The MESOM research program is closely tied to NOAA's work, and the results of the research and modeling will benefit collaborations with NOAA's growing program in marine ecosystem management. Construction of the new facility is scheduled to begin in early 2011 and be completed by late 2012. # # # Note to broadcast and cable producers: University of California, San Diego provides an on-campus satellite uplink facility for live or pre-recorded television interviews. Please phone or e-mail the media contact listed above to arrange an interview. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, at University of California, San Diego, is one of the oldest, largest and most important centers for global science research and education in the world. The National Research Council has ranked Scripps first in faculty quality among oceanography programs nationwide. Now in its second century of discovery, the scientific scope of the institution has grown to include biological, physical, chemical, geological, geophysical and atmospheric studies of the earth as a system. Hundreds of research programs covering a wide range of scientific areas are under way today in 65 countries. The institution has a staff of about 1,300, and annual expenditures of approximately $155 million from federal, state and private sources. Scripps operates one of the largest U.S. academic fleets with four oceanographic research ships and one research platform for worldwide exploration. |
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