URI_Research_Magazine_Momentum_Winter_2015_Melissa-McCarthy

RI NSF EPSC o R: Climate Change Research, Education and Outreach by Amy Dunkle & Holly Tran

Carol Thornber, associate professor of biological sciences

The state of Rhode Island covers 1,214 square miles, the smallest of these United States. But, what Rhode Island lacks in land mass—only 37 miles wide and 48 miles long—it more than compensates with a stunning Atlantic Ocean shoreline and the great expanse of Narragansett Bay.

This proximity to unique maritime features sets the stage for collaborative study on the impact of climate change on marine organisms and ecosystems, a living lab that transcends the classroom walls and campus boundaries of nine institutions of higher education in the Ocean State. A National Science Foundation (NSF) program, the Rhode Island Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) comprises University of Rhode Island (URI), Brown University, Bryant University, Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI), Providence College, Rhode Island College (RIC), Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Roger Williams University (RWU), and Salve Regina University (SRU).

Leveraging relationships and capitalizing on cutting-edge research paves the way for partnerships across multiple disciplines, from science to art, and draws on the strength of the state’s collective diversity to address the pressing issues posed by climate change. At the helm, Principal Investigator Carol Thornber, URI associate professor of biological sciences, leads RI NSF EPSCoR as the program wraps up the fifth of its five-year, $20 million grant and awaits word on whether the next five-year, $20 million grant proposal gains approval. “Our program integrates the human and capital resources of our nine campuses with support from state and federal agencies,” Thornber says. “We are leading the charge to understand what is happening to our resources, which will aid us in developing a response to preserve and protect them for generations to come.” The NSF established EPSCoR in 1978 to better distribute federal funding to states that historically received less support for research and development. Today, 31 U.S. states or territories receive EPSCoR funding.

The University of Rhode Island { momentum: Research & Innovation }

page 50