Marine lab’s expansion an ocean of possibilities

Grice Marine Laboratory Director Lou Burnett has been hoping for the past 12 years to expand the College of Charleston’s facility on the tip of James Island.

But the wait is about to come to an end after $4 million for the project was approved in this year’s state budget.

The marine lab, one of five research organizations at Fort Johnson, has a boathouse and two buildings filled with classrooms, labs, offices and a 10-person dormitory. But the college’s marine science programs have grown and the space is no longer adequate, Burnett said. Faculty and staff members also would like to offer more programs, especially in the summer. They can’t do that now, he said, because there simply isn’t enough space.

It’s important for the college to offer quality marine science programs, he said.

“Marine biology programs are flagship programs for the college. We’re sitting along the Atlantic Ocean and we attract some of the best graduate students in the country.”

The marine lab plans to use the $4 million to build a two-story building where the boathouse now sits, he said. The lower level will include storage space and a workshop in which staffers can build items needed for research. The upper level will include a dormitory with space for 36 people.

But the latest estimate for the new building is $5.3 million, Burnett said.

Conrad Festa, the college’s interim president, said Wednesday that the school is committed to finding the rest of the money to complete the project.

Burnett said staffers will meet with architects in the next few weeks to discuss the project. But it likely will be more than a year before shovels hit the dirt, he said.

When the new building is complete, staff members will convert the old dorm space to classrooms, labs and offices, he said.

And in some of that space, he hopes set up some displays for the public. Now, there is no place where the public can learn what’s going on at the facility.

Four other research organizations have centers at Fort Johnson, which sits across from the Charleston Harbor and has views of Fort Sumter and the Ravenel Bridge: the Medical University of South Carolina, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources’ Marine Resources Research Institute, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Because the organizations work cooperatively to maximize their resources, Burnett said, many people are likely to benefit from added space at the marine lab. With additional dorm space, faculty members could arrange a variety of summer programs.

When the building is complete, he said, “the sky’s the limit. The faculty can get creative.”

Inside the lab

The Grice Marine Laboratory offers undergraduate and graduate courses and conducts research in marine sciences including evolutionary biology, marine biogeography, cellular and molecular biology, immunology, microbial ecology, phytoplankton ecology, environmental physiology, fish systematics and invertebrate zoology.

At the College of Charleston, about 200 undergraduate and 57 graduate students are pursuing degrees in marine biology.

The lab, along with the other Fort Johnson research organizations, also hosts a 10- week summer research program for a select group of undergraduates.

And it maintains: an aquarium room for holding live organisms; a large collection of preserved fish and invertebrates; a marine resources library and a small fleet of boats.

The laboratory is located at Fort Johnson on James Island.

To learn more, see www.cofc.edu/~grice.