By McKenna Zacher, The Daily

The UW will be the host of the new climate, ocean, and ecosystems research institute within the College of the Environment, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced last month.

The cooperative institute involves a collaboration between two other universities in the Pacific Northwest, the University of Alaska, and Oregon State University.

The UW was selected from an open competition, in which a proposal was made to NOAA about the capabilities of the university to successfully conduct the research and fulfill the organization’s mission. The university has been awarded $300 million over the course of the next five years, with an opportunity for renewal.

John Horne, executive director of the institute and professor in the school of aquatic and fishery sciences, explained that the NOAA partnership will provide the College of the Environment with the opportunity to expand its research, education, and public engagement.

“We will continue that tradition of leading integrative basic science through real-world applications to increase our understanding of renewable systems, and how that understanding can be applied to practical applications, such as climate forecasting impacts, predictions of tsunamis, and the management of sustainable resources, such as fisheries,” Horne said.

The collaboration will help bring interdisciplinary research methods to the college within the nine research themes prescribed by NOAA, including ocean variability, environmental chemistry, marine systems, among others.

Students at all levels will have the opportunity to get involved in the program. Graduate students can participate in the expanding fellowship program, in which students can work directly with NOAA scientists in research.

Within the postdoctoral scholar program, Ph.D. candidates will have the opportunity to conduct their own research projects in association with faculty mentors. And undergraduates will also have the opportunity to participate in the research, through a summer internship program.

“The center is a place where faculty, post-docs, graduate students, and undergraduate students come together to collaborate on some of these very big challenges of climate change, ocean health, and sustainable marine life,” Lisa Graumlich, dean of the College of the Environment, said.

In the Pacific Northwest, the environment plays a large role in shaping the economy, history, and culture, according to Graumlich. As such, it is imperative to do research to protect the region’s livelihood.

“What I think NOAA understands is that investing in this region isn’t just investing in a bunch of scientists at universities doing smart things, it’s investing in the sustainability, in the long run, of this region’s economy and livelihoods,” Graumlich said.

The cooperative institute provides a great opportunity for the college and for students to continue efforts to solve issues facing the environment, Graumlich said. The collaboration among researchers is crucial to expanding the knowledge of human-impacts on the environment.

“They should be bold,” Graumlich said. “The problems we’re facing are challenging, and they’re going to involve a kind of deep collaboration. That is the hallmark of the work we do in the College of the Environment and I want them to just grab hold of the thorniest of thorny problems, to roll up their sleeves and dig in.”