NEWS AND EVENTS
Groundbreaking for LUMCON’s Blue Works Facility – Houma set to become hub for marine innovation in Louisiana
Chauvin, LA – State and local dignitaries, including Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards and Louisiana Commissioner of Higher Education Dr. Kim Hunter Reed, will participate in a groundbreaking event to celebrate the start of construction on LUMCON’s Blue Works facility. It will enhance LUMCON’S mission to connect people, enrich education, and transform science. Blue Works will do this by building knowledge, passion and capacity for ocean science and technology to find innovative solutions and train the next generation of professionals.
“Blue Works is the tangible result of a collective dream to increase access to marine science and inspire innovation to build the technologies that will allow us to understand and solve coastal and ocean issues,” says LUMCON Executive Director Dr. Craig McClain. “Having a state-of-art facility that by design creates a space that is open, transparent and collaborative will mean everyone who enters the facility can contribute to furthering marine science.”
Blue Works is slated to open in the summer of 2022. The 27,000-square-foot facility will house programs that stand at the intersection of technology, engineering and the most pressing coastal and ocean issues facing Louisiana and the world. The facility is a new collaborative technology space where exploration and discovery will lead to innovations for the future of coastal Louisiana and the changing world. Blue Works will have spaces that include STEM education labs, research labs, a 3D printer lab, a special topics library, offices, collaborative workspaces, a lecture hall, and exhibit spaces.
“The opening of this facility brings together existing experts in marine science, technology and engineering in a way that allows learners to see scientific collaboration live and in-person,” said Governor John Bel Edwards. “Blue Works will undoubtedly shape future generations of STEM professionals improving the state’s prosperity and intellectual capital, making today an exciting milestone.”
Blue Works will be part of new marine education and research campus in Houma, LA. The first-ever maritime research and education park represents a collaboration between LUMCON, Fletcher Technical Community College, and partners from the Louisiana Community and Technical College system (LCTCS), the University of Louisiana System, government, and industry. The new campus will provide opportunities for K-12, university, and workforce education in STEM supported by a vibrant research and development community.
“Connecting our coastal resources with science and innovation allows higher education to develop the talent necessary to tackle some of our most pressing environmental issues,” said Commissioner of Higher Education Kim Hunter Reed. “The Blue Works facility will embody the state’s commitment to harness our brightest minds to educate, innovate and collaborate in order to protect and restore this unique ecosystem. We are fired up about the collaborative world of possibilities ahead for our researchers, K-12 and college students, and business and industry partners.”
Also participating in the groundbreaking event will be LCTCS President Monty Sullivan, Regent Marty Chabert, Fletcher Chancellor Kristine Strickland, Representative Beryl Amedee, Representative Tanner Magee, Representative Jerome Zeringue, and Senator Mike Fesi.
The event will be held at 2:00 p.m. on April 5, 2021. The location of the event is 331 Dickson Road, Houma, Louisiana.
Media Contact: Murt Conover, Associate Director of Education and Outreach, mconover@lumcon.edu