BRISTOL – Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., helped secure a $1.7 million federal earmark for Roger Williams University to help retrofit and equip the university’s new Environmental Engineering and Environmental Science Laboratory, the university announced Friday.
RWU says the federal funds, secured by Reed in the 2023 fiscal year appropriations law, will allow the university to install new analytical equipment to examine environmental research through scientific, engineering, business, sociological and legal perspectives. The new lab, RWU says, will allow researchers to study human-derived pollutants in the air, soil and water. The lab also aims to make its research findings available to local businesses and state officials to help inform environmental policies, plans and workforce development initiatives that improve the ecosystem, as well as health and coastal resiliency in the state.
Students and staff in the new lab will work on real-world research in partnership with the university’s Center for Economic and Environmental Development, the RWU Law Marine Affairs Institute, and the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program on Rhode Island-specific issues and research, RWU says.
“Working in labs outfitted with cutting-edge analytical equipment, our faculty and students will continue to conduct critical research on how human-derived pollutants impact our environment as well as Rhode Island’s residents,” RWU President Ioannis N. Miaoulis said in a statement. “We are grateful to Senator Reed for securing the funding that will enable our continued work to address the health and vitality of our coastal ecosystems and help grow the Ocean State’s blue economy.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.