After creating oil spill research proposals with other state universities last year, those proposals submitted with LSU as the lead institution were denied funding in BP’s most recent round of Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative funding.
The state entities chosen for funding are Tulane University and the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium. LSU and the LSU Ag-Center are participating in the LUMCON research, “The Effects of the Macondo Oil Spill on Coastal Ecosystems,” along with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
LSU was also chosen as part of Tulane’s research team for its project, “The Science and Technology of Dispersants as Relevant to Deep Sea Oil magnitude.”
D’Elia and Lee said researchers don’t know what people giving grants are looking for when they sit on review panels. While each consortium was awarded several million dollars, it’s possible that some of LSU’s proposals were so complex that they warranted a higher price tag.
“These consortia establish a research community of great strength with promise of substantial achievement,” said Rita Colwell, chairman of the GRI research board, in a news release. “The results will illuminate the consequences of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill and enable appropriate responses should there be future releases not only in the Gulf of Mexico but anywhere that oil and gas is produced in ocean