Bigelow Lab awarded $1 million to fund research/education position

The Henry L. and Grace Doherty Charitable Foundation has awarded a $1 million matching gift to endow the vice president for research and education position at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences.

The new fund will be named The Henry L. and Grace Doherty Chair for Research and Education. The foundation challenged Bigelow Laboratory to raise $1 million in matching gifts by June 30, 2020.

“This gift will provide vital support to the strategy and guidance of our research and education programs,” Ben Twining, who currently holds the newly endowed position and is serving as interim executive director of the Laboratory, said in a statement. “The foundation’s generous gift comes at a pivotal moment of growth for Bigelow Laboratory. We are steadily increasing the number of students we mentor, and we just built a residence hall that will open to students and visiting researchers this summer.”

The scientists at Bigelow Laboratory engage in oceanographic research around the world — from the biology and ecology of marine microorganisms to large-scale ocean processes that affect the global environment. They also conduct numerous hands-on education programs throughout the year for students of all ages ranging from Maine high school students to international ocean scientists.

“The Doherty foundation is delighted that it is able to assist Bigelow Laboratory in the very important work they do in ocean research and in providing students of all ages with hands-on science education,” Walter R. Brown, president of the Charitable Foundation, said in a release announcing the award.