The research vessel will enable even more hands-on research collaborations among faculty and students that aim to improve the local and global marine industry

Rodrigues, Jill

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DOCS@RWU

Roger Williams UniversityDOCS@RWUFeatured News Story The Week at Roger10-23-2017RWU Receives NSF Grant to Launch NewExperiential Learning Research VesselJill RodriguesRoger Williams UniversityFollow this and additional works at: https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_newsPart of the Higher Education CommonsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the The Week at Roger at DOCS@RWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in FeaturedNews Story by an authorized administrator of DOCS@RWU. For more information, please contact mwu@rwu.edu.Recommended CitationRodrigues, Jill, "RWU Receives NSF Grant to Launch New Experiential Learning Research Vessel" (2017). Featured News Story. 245.https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_news/24510/31/2018 RWU Receives NSF Grant to Launch New Experiential Learning Research Vessel | Roger Williams Universityhttps://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/rwu-receives-nsf-grant-launch-new-experiential-learning-research-vessel 1/3 News ArchiveRWU Receives NSF Grant to Launch NewExperiential Learning Research VesselThe research vessel will enable even more hands-on research collaborationsamong faculty and students that aim to improve the local and global marineindustryThe "InVinceble Spirit," RWU's new experiential learning researchvessel, sets sail this week for hands-on lessons about coastalecosystem dynamics.October 23, 2017 Jill Rodrigues '05BRISTOL, R.I. – With a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Roger Williams Universitylaunched a new research vessel this week that will be a vital resource for increased experientiallearning opportunities and important research that contributes to the understanding of coastalecosystem dynamics and the local and global marine industry.RWU received a $158,449 award from the NSF’s Improvements in Facilities, Communications, andEquipment at Biological Field Stations and Marine Laboratories program to obtain a 30-footresearch vessel that will signi cantly expand  eld research capacity for both faculty and students.And thanks to a generous donation from an alumnus, the vessel was out tted for coastal researchwith cutting-edge sampling, safety and navigation equipment.It’s a testament, says RWU President Donald J. Farish, to the strength of the university’s marinesciences program, where undergraduate students collaborate with faculty experts on research thatinforms the broader marine science community, that the NSF awarded a grant to enable the10/31/2018 RWU Receives NSF Grant to Launch New Experiential Learning Research Vessel | Roger Williams Universityhttps://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/rwu-receives-nsf-grant-launch-new-experiential-learning-research-vessel 2/3expansion of these educational and research opportunities.“This research vessel will allow our very solid program in marine biology to do even more than theyhave been able to do in the past,” Farish said during the vessel’s dedication celebration atHerresho  Marine Museum & America’s Cup Hall of Fame in Bristol. Being able to conduct hands-on research “is an important part of our educational mission.”As a university dedicated to strengthening society through engaged teaching and learning, facultyand student researchers will use the new research vessel to contribute toward that greater good inmany ways. It will be operated through the university’s Center for Environmental and EconomicDevelopment, whose mission enables research-driven learning opportunities that aim to developeconomic and environmental solutions for the local and global marine industry. Just in the past sixmonths, CEED has established a new partnership to build an ornamental  sh hatchery in theDominican Republic, entered into a statewide coastal ecology research consortium, collaboratedon a $3 million, multi-university NSF grant investigating aquatic viruses, and had one of its marineexperts named Aquarist of the Year.“This is our  rst professional research vessel and it will greatly enhance the work we do, make itmore e cient and research-focused,” said CEED Director Timothy Scott. “It will expand ourcapabilities both scienti cally and by increasing exposure to  eld science for our students. And itwill change the dynamic of our laboratory classes now that we have the ability to take out an entireclass at once.”In order to maximize use of the boat, it received Coast Guard documentation and was constructedto high safety standards that allows for upwards of 22 students for onboard lessons and to work onresearch projects. A diesel-powered, turbo-charged engine will signi cantly extend the faculty andstudent researchers’ range and time out on the water than they’ve had in the past.The vessel was out tted with many features like a hydraulic davit that will submerge and retrieveequipment from the water and place it on the boat; a dive platform; towing capacity that will allowfor otter trawling, an important learning tool for marine biology students; and a state-of-the-artelectronics package including sonar, plotter and radar.Bill Geraghty '78 and his wife, Kat, on board the10/31/2018 RWU Receives NSF Grant to Launch New Experiential Learning Research Vessel | Roger Williams Universityhttps://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/rwu-receives-nsf-grant-launch-new-experiential-learning-research-vessel 3/3"InVinceble Spirit" during the dedication ceremony.A member of one of the  rst graduating classes of Roger Williams’ nascent marine biology program,Bill Geraghty ’78 – whose donation helped out t the vessel for coastal research – recalls how muchhe enjoyed the days of wading into the bay to collect algae samples and bringing back specimensto examine in the lab. Although he went on to pursue an outstanding career in the  nancial servicesindustry and now works as managing director at Ameriprise Financial, Geraghty continued tocultivate his love for RWU’s marine biology program and returned frequently to support andparticipate in many initiatives.Each year that the Oyster Gardening for Restoration and Enhancement (OGRE) program releasedseedlings into the bay, he was there to send the tiny oysters o  himself – and was the personresponsible for bringing the seedling of a program idea to the university. He established the MarkGould Memorial Scholarship in honor of his beloved mentor and professor. When he funded theconstruction of an observation lobby to view the inner workings of the shell sh hatchery andgreenhouse, he dedicated it to the “Lobster Mortarboard Society” – his fellow marine bio graduateswho adorned their caps with lobsters for the ’78 Commencement ceremony.It was only  tting that Geraghty received the honor of naming the new research vessel. Called theInVinceble Spirit, he dedicated it to his father, Vincent, who instilled his love for the sea and sailing,and to the spirit of his alma mater.“Spirit is something I feel as soon as I step on campus,” Geraghty said. “It’s a feeling I get fromstudents, faculty, sta  and administrators – all of the people who fuel this place with energy. Thatspirit is not just in the people at the school – it’s in the very ground the school is built on, it’s in thewaters that surround the school. Perhaps it’s something le  behind by the Pokanokets whoinhabited the area because they had a spiritual reverence for their environment and they knew howto live in harmony, sustainably with their natural world. And that spirit is at the core of the marinebiology program today, and I feel that school spirit to be invincible.”That spirit and love of learning will continue to thrive in future generations of student researchers ofall kinds at Roger Williams. Although the natural sciences programs will be the primary users of thevessel, Scott envisions this resource serving the entire campus community, providing learningopportunities for other academic areas such as the ability to take out an engineering class to studythe Mount Hope Bridge.ACADEMICS ALUMNI LIFE @ RWU FEINSTEIN SCHOOL OF SOCIAL AND NATURAL SCIENCES

RWU Receives NSF Grant to Launch New Experiential Learning Research Vessel

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RWU Receives NSF Grant to Launch New Experiential Learning Research Vessel

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