Dr. Harlyn Halvorson is the Director of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. MBL has been an important international center for marine research since its founding in 1888. The Lab continues to be an active locus of diverse research by resident and visiting scientists. Dr. Halvorson plans to improve the research capabilities of the Lab by acquiring lab instruments (two centrifuges and an on-line gas chromatograph combustion system for the Lab's mass spectrometer) and a monitoring station for meteorological and hydrological data, and by extending the existing computer network to several buildings. These proposed improvements will expand the range of research conducted at the Lab, and will provide visiting scientists with much greater access to computing facilities on the MBL campus and at their home institutions. The addition of the gas chromatograph to the mass spectrometer will significantly reduce the sample volume needed for precise measurements of isotopic ratios, thereby increasing the range of environments that can be sampled and analyzed. These items will allow the Marine Biological Lab to continue its outstanding service to the research community.
