As a collaborative effort, the University of Delaware and Oregon State University propose to operate two Van Pools for the University National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS). The East Coast Van Pool will be operated out of Delaware and the West Coast Van Pool will be operated out of the Oregon State University facilities. Both pools request funds to be utilized in support of National Science Foundation (NSF), Navy?s Office of Naval Research (ONR), United States Coast Guard (USCG) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) funded scientific research at sea. The pools will provide portable lab vans (general purpose, isotope, clean and cold) on vessels. They will charge a day rate to the institution or Agency based on the type of van requested and will be responsible for all shipping and maintenance of the vans and the storage/support facilities.
The West Coast Van Pool helps support scientific operations and data collection in the west coast region aboard NSF supported Research Vessels by supplying required additional specialized portable laboratory space. The intellectual merit of these individual projects is determined by peer review at the NSF. The scientific questions posed must be meritorious enough to warrant funding, and only those few will be fortunate enough to go to sea, and use these portable laboratory vans. The science vans provided by the Van Pool are critical components for the research carried out by the United States academic research fleet. Five science projects are supported from the West Coast Van Pool on vessels that operate throughout the Pacific. The support of these portable laboratory vans enhance the infrastructure needed for research and education on the vast majority of those cruises, science projects, research vessels and supporting institutions. Funding for the support of these portable laboratory vans helps provide the research community with the most modern and capable portable laboratory platform possible. The Vans are shipped to Research Vessels around the country in support of NSF, Navy, and NOAA funded science activities at sea. The vans are managed and maintained in Newport, OR by Oregon State University.
