The State University of New York at Stony Brook is awarded a grand to expand the Centre ValBio Research Station (CVB) research station facilities to include an additional laboratory space, a computer training lab and residential space. Construction of the research center has already begun and the first floor has been completed with funds provided by Stony Brook University and private donations. This award will enable completion of the superstructure of the building. This new phase of construction at the CVB station is the result of a multi-year planning and implementation process to provide flexible facilities for multiple users and changing needs, ranging from workshops for local villagers and student training to supporting large scale research initiatives. CVB is located in Ranomafana National Park (RNP), Madagascar, which covers 43,500 ha of rainforest in southeastern Madagascar. Over 650 faculty-level researchers and students, many from US universities, have conducted research at RNP during the last five years. Work at CVB has resulted in nearly 450 scholarly publications in prestigious journals and edited volumes, 34 PhD dissertations, and 130 Master?s theses. CVB is the most important center for rainforest research, education and training and the only research station with more than one permanent building in Madagascar. Numbers of international (non-Malagasy) researchers has grown from 102 per year in 2003 to 235 per year in 2007.
