New UVI Lab Expands Research Capability of V.I.

St. Croix Educational Complex students, from left, Clemrick Bryan,
Jirah Famucol and Stephanie Rhoden discuss a summer research project.

UVI students, faculty and
administrators at the lab opening.

The Virgin Islands Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (VI-EPSCoR) and the University of the Virgin Islands’ Center for Marine and Environmental Studies will host a grand opening of the University’s new Environmental Analysis Laboratory at 10 a.m. on Monday, March 26, at the former UVI Accounting building (near Faculty East), on the St. Thomas campus.

The 1,800 square-foot lab provides space
for up to 14 scientists and researchers.

The lab will serve the growing needs of the territory and the region, offering research services for specialized environmental analyses, including marine and freshwater quality testing, microbiological analyses, toxicological and other chemical analyses related to environmental health and quality. It will significantly improve the capacity of Virgin Islands scientists and students to conduct more rigorous and highly complex laboratory-based research. Office and laboratory space for faculty, staff and graduate research personnel will also be available.



Research Specialist Kevin Brown
provides a tour of the lab.

“There is tremendous potential,” Dr. Richard Nemeth, said of the environmental lab, noting that he hopes to host visiting scientists from federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, the U.S. Geographical Survey and the Centers for Disease Control in the future. Dr. Nemeth is the VI-EPSCoR research program coordinator and a UVI research professor.

 

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More information is available from a news release on the UVI website - http://www.uvi.edu/ - or from this direct link.