FROSTBURG — Research is powerful and must continue, Congresswoman April McClain Delaney said.
She spoke at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Appalachian Laboratory Wednesday.
The congresswoman toured the lab to learn how researchers help guide policy — on issues including air and water quality, wildlife management, sustainable agriculture, forest health and biodiversity conservation — at state, national and international levels.
After the tour, McClain Delaney participated in a ceremonial ribbon cutting of the lab’s solar project that helps reduce the facility’s carbon footprint and serves as a model for renewable energy integration in scientific research institutions, she said.
The event symbolized “lighting the way for science,” she said.
“It’s really important work,” McClain Delaney said of the scientific research, addding that she represents more than 35,000 government workers and countless more connected to federal agencies.
The Trump administration recently froze billions of dollars in funding to research organizations, including Harvard University and the National Science Foundation.
“These freezes impact all of us,” the congresswoman said, and talked of the need to build a cleaner, healthier world for the next generation.
Appalachian Laboratory Director and Professor David Nelson talked of the need to move away from fossil fuels and toward green energy.
“The work we do … relates to sustainability,” he said.
“We also lead by example,” Nelson said of hundreds of new solar panels on the lab’s roof that provide power for the building and electrical grid.
He thanked the Maryland Energy Administration for its support of the project.
UMCES President Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm said the institute is the only one of its kind that spans mountains to ocean.
“We are very, very unique,” he said.
UMCES is one of 12 universities, including Frostburg State, in the University System of Maryland.
Founded in Frostburg in 1962, Appalachian Laboratory scientists “advise state, national and international leaders on air and water quality, wildlife management, forest and agricultural management and biodiversity conservation, while also training and engaging tomorrow’s researchers and environmental stewards through advanced degree offerings, citizen science initiatives and K-12 curriculum development,” according to the UMCES website.
Mike Studholme, senior solar professional at Mountain View Solar based in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, worked on the project with Nelson and others.
Solar panels generate power where it’s consumed, he said.
Also at the event, which included roughly 45 folks, were Robin Summerfield of U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s office; Delanie Blubaugh, regional director of Western and Mountain Maryland for U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks; and Allegany County Economic Development Specialist Adam Strott.
The Appalachian Lab is “kicking butt,” Summerfield said. “This really demonstrates that here at UMCES you’re applying science.”