This award is for repair and rehabilitation of the Glassell Building and its contiguous pen. This seawater facility is utilized by every scientific research program on the RSMAS campus that requires direct access to seawater. These programs include investigations in coral ecology, plankton ecology, pathology, physiology, animal behavior, bioacoustics, biochemistry and the culture of marine organisms. It also provides space and instrumentation for both graduate and undergraduate students being trained in one or more of these disciplines. This renovation is indispensable for continuing and expanding these and future programs at the School and is essential if they are to achieve and maintain state-of-the- art capabilities in experimental marine biology. Currently, users are handicapped by the difficult environment of a building that has served as the School's major seawater facility for 28 years. Within the last two years, the School has conducted a major renovation of the entire exterior of the Glassell Building, including various structural repairs, supervised and certified by structural engineers. These have assured that the building will be safe and secure for many years to come. This award will complete the renovation of the entire facility.
