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HomeNewsArchivesVI Collects 3rd Federal Science and Engineering Grant, for $20 Million

VI Collects 3rd Federal Science and Engineering Grant, for $20 Million

UVI professor Marilyn Brandt, who conducts research funded by VI-EPSCoR, collects samples of coral for microbial analysis. The U.S. Virgin Islands won a $20 million National Science Foundation grant to bolster science and engineering academic research infrastructure and stimulate research here over the next five years, according to the University of the Virgin Islands.

It was the third such award to the territory in a decade.

The grant from the NSF’s experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) will go to support Virgin Islands-EPSCoR through the University of the Virgin Islands. The $20 million award will also support fundamental research, science and engineering education, and workforce development. It will be distributed over five years, with $4 million each year.

“The Virgin Islands’ award is especially fascinating because of the novel focus on understanding the diseases that contribute to reef degradation and the relationships with overall environmental conditions, changing climate, and human stressors,” EPSCoR Program Director Sean Kennan said at an award ceremony Friday on UVI’s St. Thomas campus, according to UVI.

Gov. John deJongh Jr. said the EPSCoR award will transform the territory, improving the quality of life for residents and bolstering the territory’s economic platform.

“Today, with this award of $20 million, the University is again taking on the leadership role that is necessary for us to move forward in the areas of environmental research, STEM education and workforce development,” deJongh said at the ceremony, according to a statement from UVI.

“This award is a testament to the integral role the University plays in the scientific, technological and economic growth of the Virgin Islands. It will empower the University to continue the cutting-edge research that already exists, and advance to the next level,” UVI President David Hall said at the ceremony.
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“The activities funded by this grant reflect needs identified by the local community that will not only address environmental and other issues of special significance in the USVI, but that also will increase our capacity to compete for research grants nationally,” said Director of VI-EPSCoR Henry Smith.

Six jurisdictions received the grant this year, including Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota. Each five-year award will support research, science and engineering education, and workforce development in areas relevant to the jurisdictions’ economic and other vital interests.

“These projects exemplify the national imperative to engage in cutting edge research, provide educational opportunities for future generations of scientists, stimulate the economy and create jobs,” said Denise Barnes, head of NSF’s EPSCoR program.

"These projects are impressive in their complexity, state-wide scope and integration of individual researchers, institutions, and organizations; as well as in their role in developing the diverse, well-prepared, STEM-enabled workforce necessary to sustain research competitiveness and economic growth.”

EPSCoR aims to fulfill the NSF’s mandate to promote scientific progress nationwide. Twenty-eight states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam are currently eligible to participate. NSF establishes regional partnerships with government, higher education, and industry that effect lasting improvements in a state’s or territory’s research infrastructure and research and development capacity, and hence, its academic competitiveness.

The U.S. Virgin Islands received its first NSF Research Infrastructure Improvement award in 2003, making the territory the smallest jurisdiction to have ever received such an award and UVI the only Historically Black College or University ever awarded. A second award was received in 2008.

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