Bay research's new wave

Located on the remote south end of the Tiburon coastline, SF State has a buried treasure.

For the past 18 years, SF State has been conducting research at the Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies, the only academic research facility on the bay.

On Sunday, President Robert Corrigan announced that SF State would donate $1 million of its money in conjunction with a $1.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation to turn the marine laboratory into "a state of the art environmental studies institute."

The 32-acre site is situated on the second biggest estuary in the country, the San Francisco Bay. An estuary is where the tides of a river meet the sea and where many animals give birth and raise their young.

"The university has taken the unusual step of contributing substantially from our own funds because we are wholly committed to the work of the (center)," Corrigan said.

According to Dr. Alissa Arp, the center's new director and author of the grant, the funding is a major step.

"To get such a vote of confidence from the federal government says a lot to our community and colleagues about our credibility," she said.

Arp, a professor at SF State for the past 10 years, took over the directorship 13 months ago. She is the first female director the center has had since its inception in 1978.

"I took over because it was a huge challenge," she said. "The center will provide a unique opportunity for urban students."

SF State graduate student, Gretchen Coffman, 27, whose thesis project involves a study of the restoration of the marshlands, is excited about the grant.

"This is an excellent program," she said. "When they refurbish the research center we'll get state of the art equipment."

James Kelley, the dean of the college of science and engineering, co-founded the center with former SF State president Paul Romberg and has been "intimately involved ever since."

"(The center) provides opportunities for students to work on the health and welfare of the bay," he said.

Kelley acknowledged the bay's ecosystem constantly battles to maintain itself and said research done through the center will help immensely.

"Our role is to provide data for the people who use the bay," he said. "We will continue to develop wetland restoration, which is a very important part of the ecosystem."

Although Arp said it would take at least $92 million to completely renovate the center, the $2.6 million is a good start.

"Students will be able to work with top-notch researchers," she said. "Researchers that have international reputations."

The center is part of a complex which SF State shares with the National Marine Fisheries, Marine Environmental Consultant, a full-service biological consulting firm which specializes in marine pollutants, and Advanced Biological Testing, another consulting firm that specializes in sediment testing of the bay.

[ Golden Gater Online October 22, 1996 ]

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