Project

Cofunding core facility - M@UG-CF

Acronym
Marine@UGent
Code
BOF/COR/2023/007
Duration
01 October 2023 → 30 September 2026
Funding
Regional and community funding: Special Research Fund
Promotor-spokesperson
Research disciplines
  • Natural sciences
    • Coastal geography
    • Marine pollution
  • Medical and health sciences
    • Environmental health and safety
    • Biopharmaceuticals
  • Engineering and technology
    • Coastal and estuarine hydraulics
    • Marine arrangements, structure and construction
    • Environmental marine biotechnology
    • Sustainable development
    • Algae biotechnology
  • Agricultural and food sciences
    • Aquaculture
Keywords
Oceans & human health Saltwater research facilities Marine biotechnology Saltwater wave flume Coastal protection Multitrophic aquaculture
 
Project description

The Marine@UGent Core Facility (M@UG-CF) is located on the UGent campus in Ostend, at the Belgian coast and close to associated research institutions such as the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) and Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO). M@UG-CF brings together unique, innovative and multidisciplinary infrastructure with the aim to further facilitate and boost marine and maritime state-of-the-art UGent research across faculties, department and lab boundaries. The Core Facility is designed with a square surface of 1040 m² to meet marine and maritime research needs that cannot be met on the current campuses in Ghent, due to (1) scale, (2) combination of engineering, biological and biotechnological research facilities in one infrastructure and (3) distance to the sea. Moreover, this Core Facility is strongly embedded in the local/regional research ecosystem in order to obtain maximum synergy and complementarity with the existing research infrastructures (Ostend Marine Station, Raversijde test dike, coastal and ocean basin, towing tank) and research institutes (VLIZ, ILVO, RBINS) . The M@UG-CF consists of (1) multifunctional aquaculture facilities, (2) a multifunctional saltwater wet lab, (3) a saltwater wave flume, (4) a wet lab for the cultivation of microalgae and (dune) plants and (5) a fully equipped dry lab to support biochemical, microbiological and molecular research.