NSF-CAPACITY FIELD STATIONS: EXPANDING WALK-IN ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL CHAMBER CAPACITY AND FUNCTIONALITY AT HIGHLANDS BIOLOGICAL STATION

NSF 能力现场站：扩大高地生物站步入式环境控制室的能力和功能

• 批准号: 2122771
• 负责人: James Costa
• 金额: $ 18.64万
• 依托单位: Western Carolina University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-09-01 至 2024-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2122771&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; CAPACITY; FIELD; STATIONS; EXPANDING

Walk-in environmental rooms that provide precision control of temperature, relative humidity, and light have a great many applications in research and education. The twin 1980s-era environmental control chambers at Highlands Biological Station (HBS: highlandsbiological.org) have been real work-horses, supporting hundreds of studies on plants and animals over the years in many research areas, from behavior, ecology, and climate change to development, genetics, and physiology — especially work with lungless salamanders, one of the most ecologically important animal groups in southern Appalachian forests and streams. In addition to research, these chambers have also supported class demonstrations and student research projects in HBS field courses. The chambers are now very dated, however, with aging plumbing, wiring, and analog controls that no longer function reliably, hampering research and other applications. This project will replace and upgrade the functionality of these chambers while also expanding capacity, adding a third walk-in environmental control room. The goal is both expanded capabilities and expanded capacity in order to support a broader range of applications in research, teaching, class projects, public programs, and demonstrations. Working with leaders in the design and construction of precision scientific and industrial environmental control rooms, this project entails fabricating and installing 3 new chambers on the footprint of the old ones. The design realizes a net gain of over 16 square feet of working area and 215 cubic feet of conditioned space, reliably providing the precision temperature, relative humidity, light control and other capabilities needed by today's researchers and for instructional applications. The replacement chambers will also feature increased shelf space with interior electrical outlets to accommodate peripheral equipment such as video or grow lights, as well as remote-monitoring functionality so that HBS staff, researchers, and instructors can monitor chamber conditions via mobile device or desktop on a continuous basis.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

高地生物站（HBS：highlandsbiological.org）的 20 世纪 80 年代环境控制室已在研究和教育领域得到广泛应用。 -马，多年来在许多研究领域支持数百项关于植物和动物的研究，从行为、生态和气候变化到发育、遗传学和生理学——特别是对无肺蝾螈的研究，无肺蝾螈是最常见的动物之一阿巴拉契亚南部森林和溪流中具有重要生态意义的动物群除了研究之外，还支持哈佛商学院实地课程的课堂演示和学生研究项目，但这些房间现在已经非常陈旧，管道、线路和模拟控制装置都已老化。该项目将替换和升级这些室的功能，同时扩大容量，增加第三个步入式环境控制室，以扩大功能和容量。支持更广泛的应用该项目涉及研究、教学、课堂项目、公共项目和演示，与精密科学和工业环境控制室的设计和建造领域的领导者合作，需要在旧房间的占地面积上建造和安装 3 个新房间。实现了超过 16 平方英尺的工作区域和 215 立方英尺的调节空间的净增益，可靠地提供当今研究人员和教学应用所需的精确温度、相对湿度、光控制和其他功能。替换室还将具有增强的功能。带有内部电源插座的架子空间，可容纳视频或生长灯等外围设备，以及远程监控功能，以便哈佛商学院的工作人员、研究人员和讲师可以通过移动设备或台式机连续监控室内条件。该奖项反映了通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，NSF 的法定使命被认为值得支持。