After creating oil spill research proposals with other state universities last year, those proposals submitted with LSU as the lead institution were denied funding in BP's most recent round of Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative funding.
The state entities chosen for funding are Tulane University and the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium. LSU and the LSU Ag-Center are participating in the LUMCON research, "The Effects of the Macondo Oil Spill on Coastal Ecosystems," along with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
LSU was also chosen as part of Tulane's research team for its project, "The Science and Technology of Dispersants as Relevant to Deep Sea Oil Releases."
Christopher D'Elia, dean of the School of the Coast and Environment, and Matthew Lee, associate vice chancellor for the Office of Research and Economic Development, spearheaded the effort for LSU to join with other state universities in proposals for research grants last year. Both said they have not yet received evaluations about why LSU's proposals were not chosen for funding, but Lee said the competition was "wide open" and LSU submitted "proposals of large magnitude."
D'Elia and Lee said researchers don't know what people giving grants are looking for when they sit on review panels. While each consortium was awarded several million dollars, it's possible that some of LSU's proposals were so complex that they warranted a higher price tag.
"These consortia establish a research community of great strength with promise of substantial achievement," said Rita Colwell, chairman of the GRI research board, in a news release. "The results will illuminate the consequences of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill and enable appropriate responses should there be future releases not only in the Gulf of Mexico but anywhere that oil and gas is produced in ocean environments."
R. Eugene Turner, professor in the School of Coast and Environment, is subcontracted under LUMCON's proposal, along with Linda Hooper-Bui, LSU AgCenter professor.
They said their research will explore how the oil has affected insects, oysters, plants, nutrient cycling, fish and bacteria in marsh areas.
Turner and Hooper-Bui said they had been working on this research before they applied for the GRI grant. Previously, their grants funded about $1 million for research, but the GRI grant gives them about $13 million to last the next three years. A "significant amount" of that $1 million was spent on analyzing the marsh samples they initially collected as pre-impact data.
"Our goal was an investigator driven approach and focus on baseline data," Hooper-Bui said.
Their research will include School of Coast and Environment and AgCenter professors along with graduate and undergraduate students.
Hooper-Bui said the AgCenter is looking for "motivated life science freshmen and sophomores" who will want to participate in its oil spill research.
"We hope for closure on impacts and a solid baseline," Turner said about where they hope to be with their research in the three years.
Lee said the GRI still has another batch of funding for single investigators or small groups, and he expects the University to submit proposals in that round.
"The University's research community will continue to be aggressive in seeking funding," Lee said.
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Contact Andrea Gallo at agallo@lsureveille.com
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