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MSU Biological Station Gets $3.8M Grant

MSU Biological Station Gets $3.8M Grant
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By West Kentucky Star Staff
Aug. 11, 2016 | MURRAY, KY
By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 11, 2016 | 10:11 PM | MURRAY, KY
Murray State University’s Hancock Biological Station has received a $3.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation that will study toxic algae blooms using environmental sensors and cyberinfrastructure.

The Hancock Biological Station is a year-round facility on Kentucky Lake, providing scientists with a base of operation for a wide variety of field research. The station presents students with opportunities for field-oriented classes, individualized instruction, independent research and close interactions with researchers and faculty. 

The station, located approximately 16 miles from Murray, is celebrating its 50th year of operation.

The four-year grant is titled “Sensing and Educating the Nexus to Sustain Ecosystems (SENSE): A Kentucky-West Virginia Partnership.” The grant focuses on the need for water quality sensors that can pinpoint problems as they occur. Data streams can help researchers understand the conflicts of phosphorus from farmlands with warm surface waters that lead to toxic algae blooms.

An educational component of the grant will include the mentoring of early career faculty who recently have been hired in the states of Kentucky or West Virginia to promote independent thinking and scaffolding towards careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) areas.

Murray State faculty through the Jesse D. Jones College of Science, Engineering and Technology who are part of the grant include lead principal investigator Dr. David White, professor of biology and director of the Biological Station, and Dr. Susan Hendricks, a senior research scientist with the Biological Station. 


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