Mote, USF celebrate new partnership

Mote Marine Laboratory and the University of South Florida announced an affiliation agreement that will allow both institutions to pursue new research grants while combining their resources for projects focused on research, education, community outreach and commercialization of new technologies.

The first project will be a collaboration between USF’s Research Park and the Mote Aquaculture Research Park, which will allow USF to integrate new sustainable energy technologies through the Florida Energy Systems Consortium.

“Since 1992, Mote has been committed to developing new ways to farm fish to provide more important food resources that don’t harm the environment, and we have invested more than $15 million in this research,” said Mote President Dr. Kumar Mahadevan in a press release. “We think these efforts should also become an important new economic driver for the state of Florida.”

The affiliation expands on a three-year relationship between USF and Mote through the Joint Center for Coastal Ocean Studies. The institutions regularly work together on issues such as red tide, fisheries management, ecotoxicology and marine mammal, shark and sea turtle research.

Mote and USF will celebrate their new partnership at a ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 17, in Mote’s Aquarium Courtyard, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway.