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Date 5-15-06
Contact Linda Skupien 228.872.4273
Ocean
Springs—Registration for the 2006 Summer Field Program
at the University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast Research
Laboratory (GCRL) has been extended to May 30, first term, and June
28, second term. Registration for both terms is now available.
Undergraduate
and graduate students will get a firsthand look at Gulf of Mexico
plants, animals and habitats post-Katrina. Hurricane Katrina inflicted
an estimated $298 million in losses on Southern Miss along the Gulf
Coast, including the GCRL's estimated $50 million in lost facilities,
instrumentation and research. GCRL's march toward recovery, however,
includes a full summer session of field courses at the Ocean Springs
campus.
"Hurricane
Katrina certainly changed Mississippi, but it has left us with many
unique research opportunities revolving around the marine and coastal
environments," said Dr. Ed Pinero, director of the Summer Field
Program. "Students participating in the Summer Field Program
will get out into the fascinating environment of the Gulf of Mexico
and our barrier islands as part of their studies.”
This summer
marks the 59th continuous year that GCRL has offered the Summer
Field Program. Modular units delivered in December will temporarily
replace three teaching laboratories that the storm swept away near
the GCRL entrance. Restoration of flood damaged facilities is complete
for the dormitory, dining hall, marine library and additional classroom
facilities.
"The summer
field program is alive and well and enrollment is at an all-time
high," Pinero said. "Students from across the nation want
to study the changing coastal environment post-Katrina.” For many
of the summer students, a field trip aboard one of the Laboratory's
research vessels is their first at-sea experience.
Courses offered
May 30 - June 27 are marine biology, marine mammals, and shark biology.
June 28 - July 28 courses are oceanography, marine invertebrate
zoology and marine ichthyology.
Students who
attend both terms can earn up to 11 semester hours of science credit.
Options are also available for upperclassmen to conduct independent
research under the direction of a GCRL scientist.
For information,
contact 228.872.4223, e-mail ed.pinero@usm.edu,
or visit www.usm.edu/gcrl/.
The Gulf Coast
Research Laboratory is part of the university's School of Ocean
and Earth Sciences within the College of Science and Technology.
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