This Academic Research Facilities Modernization Program (ARFMP) award from the Research Facilities Office provides funds to the University of Houston-Clear Lake for the repair and renovation of the Bayou Building which houses biological research and research training activities. This building was constructed in 1975 and has not been renovated since that time. The ARFMP grant of $125,000 and $155,146 provided by the grantee as cost sharing will be used to modernize these research and research training facilities and will permit the clustering of faculty members who are now dispersed or who currently have no assigned laboratory space. This project will address the need to improve the current research infrastructure by providing more usable space, adequate ventilation and lighting, and growth chambers for all laboratories which are to be modernized. The greater interactions among faculty and students that accrue from this renovation can be expected to enhance collaborations and the quality of ongoing research. This award contributes to the infrastructure of science by providing an improved environment for the conduct of research and for the training of quality students in a department with a particular commitment to educating nontraditional students and to preparing students for advanced education in the sciences.
