All American Marine to build new research vessel

It’s official: All American Marine will build Middlebury’s new research vessel. The vessel will be twin hulled — a catamaran — and 45 feet long. Middlebury’s research vessel will be very similar its sister ship, the R/V AUK (pictured here), which AAM built for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Of the eight ship builders who sent us proposals in 2008, AAM was the best: their design and construction capabilities are superior, and the level of detail they provided convinced us that they are the right choice.

Official award notification

It’s finally official! The award letter has arrived:

The National Science Foundation hereby awards a grant of $1,731,377 to Middlebury College for support of the project described in the proposal referenced above as modified by revised budget dated July 13, 2010.

This project, entitled “Upgrading Middlebury College’s Floating Laboratory: A State-of-the-Art Research Vessel,” is under the direction of Patricia L. Manley, James R. Ralph, Robert G. Cluss, Thomas O. Manley. This award is effective August 1, 2010 and expires July 31, 2013. This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (Public Law 111-5).