Previous Story
NMC forms new science, environmental group
|
Posted on Nov 21 2005
The Northern Marianas College is working on establishing a group that would focus on projects that involve the science and environmental management departments.
According to the college’s media release last week, a Science, Mathematics, and Technology Department is forming a science and environmental management association—the first of its kind based in the CNMI.
The name of the new association would be the “Western Pacific Academy of Sciences and Environmental Management.” The department already had three organizational presentations and meetings for the past two weeks now.
The college said the association would move to support the new Marine and Environmental Sciences Center being constructed at Pau Pau Beach.
Two evening presentation sessions were held recently, hosted by the NMC Ecology/Marine Biology Club and eight resident and visiting scientists, instructors, and resource managers presented during the event.
A core group of college and community organizers are currently holding meetings to formulate association details. There were 105 people who attended the three meetings, including NMC students, researchers and faculty, and interested members of the general public.
“The four off-island presenters traveled from Hawaii, Guam, and Tinian to participate and present findings from their recent work. It is planned that the organization will become the equivalent of a state affiliate of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and that it will foster collegial interactions with scientists in Japan, Australia, the Philippines, Guam, and other areas of Micronesia,” the college said.
With the initial success of the first general sessions, the group has decided to attempt regular monthly presentation seminars to keep interest going and further develop this organizational effort.
For more information, contact John Furey at the college through tel. no. 234-3690 ext. no. 1210, or by email: johnf@nmcnet.edu, or contact Glenn Keaton, the Chair of the Sciences, Mathematics & Technology Department at Ext. 1200, or by email: glennk@nmcnet.edu. (PR)
