Press Releases
LSU receives $300,000 grant
10/10/2004
Through a generous donation from Shell Oil Company (Shell), the coastal science and engineering community at LSU will soon be able to perform integrated hydrodynamic and ecological modeling to forecast what is necessary to rehabilitate and protect coastal resources of Louisiana.
A grant of $300,000 by Shell to LSU will establish a Coastal Environmental Modeling Laboratory (CEML) within the School of the Coast and Environment, which will apply computer-facilitated modeling to the development of innovative and integrated approaches to sustainable development in Louisiana's coastal regions and other areas around the state, the Gulf region, the nation and the world.
“LSU and our collaborators have the capabilities, expertise and facilities to plan and implement a Coastal Environmental Modeling Laboratory,” said Russell L. Chapman, dean of the School of the Coast and Environment. “The lab will make a difference in understanding, restoring, preserving, and managing not only Louisiana coastal ecosystems, but also coastal ecosystems throughout the world.”
“For the last several years Shell has been proud to be closely associated with the beginnings of the coastal modeling research at LSU,” said Lynn Laverty Elsenhans, president of Shell Oil Company. “Today’s grant will help establish a first-rate coastal modeling lab to provide viable options for restoring the coastline and wetland areas.”
Louisiana is losing coastal wetlands, barrier islands and shoreline features at alarmingly high rates and rehabilitating the region will be a formidable challenge. This challenge will require huge investments in science and engineering capacity, including both computational and professional capital. Shell’s donation is the kind of investment in higher education of Louisiana that is required to meet this challenge and will have huge benefits to the economic sustainability of Louisiana and the nation.
The School of the Coast and Environment is a college-level academic and research unit. It exists to provide knowledge, technology, and human resources for successful management of natural resources and resolution of environmental issues important to Louisiana, the Gulf of Mexico region, and comparable areas throughout the nation and the world.
For more information on the LSU Foundation, contact:
Elizabeth Nealy
LSU Foundation
3838 W. Lakeshore Drive
Baton Rouge, LA 70808
225/ 758-3826 or fax: 225/578-0530