Sep 10, 2013 05:32 AM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

The University of New Hampshire (UNH) has launched a new School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering, an assimilation of the university's various marine-related research, teaching and outreach activities.

"By integrating these activities and providing a central focal point for marine efforts here, we will better signal that UNH is a major player in marine science," said Larry Mayer, director of the new School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering and director of UNH's Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center.

"The ocean is interdisciplinary, so the way we study it must be as well," Mayer said. "This school acknowledges the contributions that faculty here have made to the marine world and provides a better platform to attract students, federal funding and donors and, ultimately, to better serve the region and the world in managing and conserving marine resources."

The new school will operate from the UNH's Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space (EOS). It will offer three doctoral programs in areas of ocean engineering, oceanography, and marine biology. It will also provide graduate courses and certificate programs in a wide range of subjects including coastal planning and adaptations to climate change. Undergraduates can pursue various marine-related programs.

"Whether responding to an oil spill, mitigating the effects of climate change, or launching an aquaculture solution to declining fish stocks, we must provide knowledge that transcends biology, chemistry, engineering, economics, policy, and oceanography, among other disciplines," said UNH President Mark W. Huddleston. "The School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering will break the silos that previously separated these talents at UNH and unite them to provide comprehensive solutions to increasingly complex issues facing our ocean resources."

According to Nashua, the School of Marine Studies and Ocean Engineering currently comprises of two research vessels - the R/V Gulf Challenger and the R/V Coastal Surveyor. It has several smaller boats too and maintains three major facilities - the Judd Gregg Marine Research Complex in New Castle, the Jackson Estuarine Laboratory on Great Bay in Durham, and the Chase Ocean Engineering Laboratory. It also supports the Shoals Marine Laboratory on Appledore Island.

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