This Academic Research Facilities Modernization Program (ARFMP) award from the Research Facilities Office provides funds to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the renovation and repair of the Ralph M. Parsons Laboratory for Water Resources and Environmental Engineering which houses the environmental science and engineering research and research training activities of the Civil Engineering Department. This building was constructed in 1950 and last renovated in 1969. The ARFMP grant of $700,000 and $859,000 provided by the grantee as cost sharing will be used to modernize these research and research training facilities. This project will address the need to improve the current research infrastructure by (a) refurbishing the environmental chemistry and biology laboratories so that state-of-the-art research can be performed and modern research equipment can be most effectively used in them; (b) consolidating the hydrodynamics facilities to enhance their utility; and (c) making more efficient use of the space so that a new environmental microbiology laboratory can be added, the capacity of computer work stations can be expanded, and growth in the population of student research assistants can be achieved. The benefits that accrue from this renovation can be expected not only to improve the cleanliness and safety of the research environment but also to enhance the efficiency of research, the capacity to address environmental engineering and science problems involving very hazardous substances and samples containing only trace quantities of chemicals of interest, the ability to blend modern microbiology with the currently predominant physical and chemical environmental research activities, and the ability to train more students. This award contributes to the infrastructure of science and engineering by providing an improved environment for the conduct of research and for the training of quality undergraduate and graduate students in a department with a strong commitment to the recruitment of minority and women students.
