Spring 2016 – Note from the Research Board Chair
– MARCH 31, 2016
(From Spring 2016 Newsletter) Dr. Rita Colwell, University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University
The GoMRI mission and Legacy Goals comprise the foundation of our program. We are now more than half way through the ten year duration of the program and have made great strides in achieving our goals. Looking ahead, the Research Board wishes to establish a legacy for GoMRI, notably to synthesize the excellent science that has been, and will continue to be, produced under the GoMRI aegis. There are already many discoveries and contributions that will live long after the end of the program; these include scientific publications, a cadre of next generation oil spill scientists, and a massive compilation of data that will continue to be available long into the future from the GoMRI data management system developed and maintained by GRIIDC.
There are many other contributions that are part of GoMRI’s legacy, including special issues of peer reviewed scientific journals, documentaries such as the Dispatches from the Gulf film produced by Sceenscope with GoMRI funding, and through a network of partnerships, notably with Smithsonian’s Ocean Portal and the four Gulf Sea Grant Programs. The Research Board is exploring additional ways for the GoMRI legacy to be useful to the broader community long after the program ends. We ask ourselves questions such as, “What have we learned from the massive amount of research done the Gulf? How can that information be applicable globally?” To answer these important questions, GoMRI science is key, but thoughts and suggestions from the GoMRI community and our partners are also very important. Therefore, the GoMRI Research Board is pleased to announce the Save the Date for RFP-VI, a request for proposals that includes a provision for funding proposals addressing synthesis of findings from the GoMRI program. RFP-VI will provide funds for years 9 and 10 of the ten year program.
The Research Board looks forward to receiving research proposals responding to RFP-VI and the additional excellent science that will be accomplished in this round of GoMRI funding. Indeed, the scientific community working in partnership with GoMRI is clearly dedicated to providing improved understanding of oil spills and their impact and, we hope, will find ways to ensure the program legacy so that lessons we have learned can be a guide in the future.
