The National Coral Reef Institute

Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Ecosystems Science Research Facility Nova Southeastern University is constructing the Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Ecosystems Science Research Facility, which will be completed in 2012. NCRI is an integral partner in this effort. The activities in this multidisciplinary research building are to address national and international priorities in coral reef research in five thematic areas: ■ impacts of global and local stressors ■ geospatial analysis and mapping ■ deep sea coral reefs and biodiversity ■ genetic and genomic connectivity ■ hydrodynamics The facility will include space for offices, laboratories, collaboration, research training, and fieldwork staging. It is designed to promote high-quality and impactful research by current and new faculty members, researchers, visiting scientists, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students. Funded in part by a grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) at a cost of more than $40 million, the center will be the only research facility in the nation dedicated entirely to coral reef ecosystems science. As one of NOAA’s external Coral Reef Institute partners, NCRI has long supported NOAA’s mission by providing outstanding scientific research to support federal, state, and local management and conservation. By conducting fundamental research, NCRI is finding management and conservation solutions to pressing coral reef issues. The new Center of Excellence will have urgently needed state- of-the-art research facilities, and consequently, expanded scientific capacity. Center of Excellence 15