Mike Sullivan writes:

The summer may be winding down but there is all kinds of activity at Skidaway Institute.

• The Board of Regents included our request for $1.2 million for marine infrastructure renovation in their capital FY09 budget proposal to the Governor and legislature. We had a similar amount in the budget proposal last year, but didn’t make it through the legislative process. We’re crossing our fingers we’ll be more successful this year. The work on our docks and other facilities is desperately needed.
• Design work is continuing on our new research/laboratory building. We are hoping to have a ground breaking in the coming months.
• Jay Brandes is getting his mass spectrometer laboratory up and operating. See his blog entry below.
• A group of educators from the Georgia Aquarium will be here tomorrow and Friday for a series of presentations on the various institutions and research programs here. On Thursday they will be going to Ossabaw Island for an overnight adventure. We’re looking forward to having the educators here and furthering a relationship with the Aquarium.
• A group of students from Savannah State University will be going on an overnight research cruise on the RV Savannah Wednesday and Thursday. This is part of an on-going collaboration we have with SSU called the Collaborative to Integrate Research and Education (CIRE.) I have been along on several of these student-cruises. They will have a blast… assuming the seas stay calm.
• We are planning our next Skidaway Marine Science Day for Saturday, October 13. This is a big, campus-wide open house. We probably had 1,600 visitors last year. This year’s event has a couple of new twists. The UGA Aquarium, which is closed for renovations, will have its grand re-opening as part of the day. Also, a couple of our research assistants (Debbie Wells and Charles Robertson) have come up with a new techy-activity they are calling”Skio-cache.” This is a play on the generic name “geocache” and the acronym for Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (SkIO). Essentially this is a scavanger hunt, but instead of clues, the participants are given GPS coordinates. They then use their GPS devices to locate the various stashes of trinkets or goodies hidden around the campus. Apparently, this getting to be a big deal with GPS lovers. We’re still working out the details, but if you are into GPS, mark the day on your calendar. Should be fun!