WASHINGTON –
U.S. Senators Benjamin L. Cardin and
Barbara A. Mikulski (both D-Md.) announced today that the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) has been awarded a $2 million grant to support the design and construction of a new energy efficient building to house computers, faculty and staff offices. The new building will replace buildings destroyed in a fire in 2007. Those buildings had previously housed UMCES, Horn Point Laboratory’s computer center and the offices of faculty and staff working on the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay.

The grant is being awarded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Senator Mikulski is Chairwoman of the Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Subcommittee, which funds NOAA.

“The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science is the lead institution in Maryland focused on restoring the Chesapeake Bay,” said
Senator Cardin. “This funding will enable them to rebuild important laboratory facilities so they can continue their important research into improving the Bay.”

“The work of UMCES is so important,”
Senator Mikulski said. “Every day their students and professors work in the labs, classrooms and in the field to discover the best ways to preserve and protect Maryland’s crown jewel, the Chesapeake Bay. I am committed to making sure they have the federal support they need to carry out their critical work.”

UMCES is Maryland’s premiere higher education institute for environmental science and an international model for coastal studies. It is the lead institution in Maryland focused on the management and restoration of the Chesapeake Bay.