Western Washington University Courses

From 2002 to 2006, 23 different WWU courses were offered at SPMC for credit.  These included Oceanography, Fisheries Biology, Marine Ecology, Aquatic Ecology, Fisheries Management Laboratory, Algae, Marine Invertebrates, Estuarine Ecology, Fundamentals of Marine Science, Ichthyology, Environmental Research, Marine Biology, Marine Pollution and Toxicology, Plankton Ecology, Pelagic Ecology, Benthic Ecology, Science Methods, and a number of Current Trends in Marine Science topics.  Annual enrollments ranged from 107 to180, and the number of credits offered ranged from 457 to 756. SPMC also hosted field trips for other courses at WWU including Paleontology, Oceanography, Adventures in Science, Science Methods and Curricula, and Terrestrial Ecology, which averaged 40 students per year. 

Field Trips for Other Educational Institutions

SPMC also served other local public institutions including Skagit Valley, Edmonds, and Everett Community Colleges by hosting an average of two field trips annually that served an average of 125 students per year.  During this ime SPMC hosted an additional 205 students from other community and local colleges, and public education groups, including groups from Eastern Washington University, Samish Indian Nation, Northwest Indian College, Walla Walla College Marine Station , Padilla Bay NERR Interpretive Center, Seattle University and the Heritage Academy of Portland.

Research

From 2002-2006, sixteen supervised independent undergraduate research projects were sponsored annually by the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates and Multicultural Initiative in the Marine Sciences: Undergraduate Participation programs.  These students conducting the projects were recruited from Western Washington University and 47 other colleges and universities around the nation.  A total of 32 Master’s theses theses were completed during 2002-2006 through WWU’s Marine and Estuarine Science Program.  Another 20 thesis projects are currently underway.

A total of 188 SPMC-based research projects were completed or underway during 2002-2006.  This includes projects carried out at Shannon Point by faculty and resident staff, students under the direction of staff, and visiting scientists.  Eighty-two of the projects involved undergraduates working as investigators and 61 involved graduate students.  Visiting investigators included 22 senior scientists and graduate students and 65 undergraduates from 49 other institutions.

Publications

From 2002 to 2006, 105 formal publications were produced, involving 172 authors and co-authors.  Authors included 7 resident scientists, 24 students, and 141 visiting scientists and collaborators at other institutions. 

Funding

A total of $6.8 million in external funding was received in support of infrastructure and research from 2002 to 2006.  $5.3 million of these funds were awards from the National Science Foundation.  Twenty-two percent of the awarded funds supported facilities development/instrumentation ($204,580) and academic programs ($1.3 million), while 78% supported research ($5.3 million).  In 2006, SPMC had active funding of $4.3 million, that included $2.7 million from the National Science Foundation.  $1.4 million of the national Science Foundation’s funds were in support of facilities development and academic programs and an additional $1.3 million were in support of research.  Other sources of funding included the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Washington State Department of Ecology, Sea Grant, and local municipal and private sources.

Research Vessel Use and Scientific Diving

Our three major vessels (the RV ANOVA, the RV FLORA, and the RV FAUNA) made a total of 937 trips serving 4028 on-board scientists and students from 2002 to 2006.  Those on-board came from six academic units at the University, 12 other colleges, public agencies and private organizations, and NSF sponsored student and externally-funded research programs. 

During 2002-2006, 844 scientific SCUBA dives were sponsored by SPMC. These dives supported the research of 24 undergraduate projects, 18 Master’s theses, and 9 research scientists as well as providing collections for education and training purposes for 11 academic departments and programs.

Public Education and Outreach

Outreach and general public education focused on off-campus activities due to space limitations.  Because of SPMC's increasingly limited capacity to address the interests of groups whose functions are outside our primary research and collegiate education mandate, special event activities have been limited.  A total of 50 meetings and events were hosted, primarily from University groups, serving a total of 557 people.