HOLLYWOOD, Fla., Sept. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Nova Southeastern University will host a grand opening ceremony for America’s largest coral reef research center on Sept. 27.
Media Kit with video and photos: http://www.nova.edu/ocean/excellence/index.html
NSU scientists are conducting reef research locally, nationally and globally at the 86,000-square-foot Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Ecosystems Research. The facility is located at NSU’s Oceanographic Center at John U. Lloyd Beach State Park.
At a price-tag of $50 million, the Center has created 22 new academic jobs and 300 construction jobs; and it will employ 50 graduate students as well as preserving 22 existing academic jobs. NSU received a $15 million competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce (using funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) to build the center, while the university funded the rest of the project.
“By opening this state-of-the-art facility, NSU is taking a leadership role in Florida’s marine science research and helping boost an important multibillion-dollar coral reef industry that employs thousands of South Floridians and sustains many small businesses,” said NSU President George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D. “The research Center is critical for the environmental sustainability of coral reefs, which are the life blood of our region and oceans, and their ecosystems.”
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