MRI/RUI: Acquisition of a High-Speed Digital Motion Analysis System for Studying Multi-Scale Interactions in a Fluid environment.

San Jose State University Foundation, San Jose CA

Investigators

Abstract

A grant has been awarded to Moss Landing Marine Laboratory under the direction of Dr. Michael Graham for the acquisition of a Multi-scale Fluid Analysis System (MFAS). This system represents a combination of state-of-the-art instrumentation for introducing organisms to flow in a laboratory setting, and visualizing and quantifying organismal responses to flow. Acquisition of the MFAS will provide researchers at MLML and partner institutions throughout Monterey Bay with the resources necessary to study a broad range of topics in marine science. Proposed research topics range from small-scale variability in larval settlement to the feeding kinematics of marine fishes and the testing of the efficacy and accuracy of sampling devices and remote sensing instrumentation. As such, the MFAS strongly enhances the ongoing research program of MLML researchers at multiple levels, all of which have a long history of significant contribution to the field of marine science. The MFAS will provide more than just a research platform, as it will be directly incorporated into the MLML curricula through established courses in marine science and a novel course centered around the MFAS. The MFAS will be made available to MLML MS degree students for individual course- and thesis-related research projects, as well as undergraduate students from any of seven consortium campuses (two of which are minority-serving institutions). In addition, the system will be used: (1) in an established program that brings K-12 teachers to MLML in order to gain hands-on experience in using marine instrumentation and incorporate marine research concepts into K-12 curricula; (2) as a focal point of public outreach through organized tours of the research facility; (3) to package the results of MLML faculty and student research in a form conducive to broad-scale dissemination (e.g. WWW). We predict there will be broader impacts for the general public due to the inherently visual format in which data are collected with the MFAS. Such data are inherently appealing to viewers and can help to break down barriers that generally separate scientists from the non-scientific public.