University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth

School for Marine Science and Technology, New Bedford, MA

SMAST The School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) provides the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth with a center for basic and applied research in marine science and marine engineering.

The SMAST center was the result of several years of planning and advocacy by civic, industrial, and academic leaders in southeastern Massachusetts. Located in New Bedford, one of the areas hardest hit by the economic downturn in the fishing industry, a goal of the SMAST program is to help recover the depleted fish population by researching overfishing, oil spills, and bacteria blooms.

The facility is equipped with 14 research laboratories with office, support and administrative facilities. A flow-through seawater system maintains marine animals used in research and an underwater acoustical/optical testing tank for testing electrical devices. The devices tested are placed in the ocean to monitor temperature, clarity, salinity, and other traits that help scientists predict the behavior of fish and bacteria blooms, and show the effects of warming ocean temperatures.