AAAS Finds CMAST Occupies Unique Niche

(DEC 10, 2014) The American Association for the Advancement of Science Research Competitiveness Program (AAAS) recently found that CMAST, along with other UNC System marine science programs, occupied a unique niche and served a distinct group of stakeholders in North Carolina.

At the conclusion of the study, the AAAS presented their assessments to UNC President Tom Ross and the UNC General Administration in Summer 2013. The full report can be found in the archive of reports on the CMAST home page.
The AAAS panel also determined that the UNC System has an extraordinarily rich assemblage of intellectual assets, facilities, and capabilities that underlie research, education, and outreach related to the coastal North Carolina marine environment, and more broadly to a regional, national, and global environment.

A significant finding was that there is little redundancy or overlap among the various university labs and programs.
The AAAS External Review Team concluded that (1) independent coastal marine science units are a major strength to the UNC-System portfolio, and (2) that “formidable programs” in Carteret County, such as CMAST and IMS, in concert with the Duke Marine Lab, could become a “National Center of Excellence” with very little additional investment.