This 3-year award to University of Rhode Island (URI) provides support for technical services during NSF-funded programs on R/V Endeavor, a 184' general purpose research vessel operated as part of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System research fleet. URI will provide one shipboard technician on each cruise of R/V Endeavor to support seagoing research projects and to maintain, calibrate and provide for qualified users items from their pool of shared-use research instrumentation. As specialized services, they will maintain and operate an undulating, towed vehicle system that is portable, and is available for use on appropriate R/V Endeavor or other UNOLS vessels as scheduling allows. The technical support and instrument maintenance provided via this award enables shared-use operation of this oceanographic facility by qualified researchers from throughout the US, and it enables efficient use of the vessel for federally-funded oceanographic research. Budgets for technical support are evaluated annually, and the cost is based on the proportion of vessel use by each sponsoring agency. ***
