$22.5 Million Grant for Ocean Exploration

Washington, D.C. (global-adventures.us): The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded a five-year, $22.5 million grant to a new entity called The Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research, and Technology. It will be headquartered at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) at Florida Atlantic University in Fort Pierce, Florida, and co-managed by the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW), according to a NOAA press release. The new entity is a consortium of several limited partners, including the SRI International in St. Petersburg, Florida, and the University of Miami, Rosentiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science in Miami, Florida.

"This is an important day for Harbor Branch, Florida Atlantic University, our partners and the coastal ocean of the eastern seaboard," said Dr. John Pritchett, university provost and chief academic officer of FAU. "This cooperative institute will advance ocean science, gather the information necessary to formulate better policies and improve the process of innovation."

The new institute will conduct research under three main themes: development of advanced underwater technologies, exploration and research of frontier regions of the eastern continental shelf and beyond, and improved understanding of deep and shallow coral ecosystems, according to NOAA.