The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) celebrated the opening of the new $12.2-million Marine Research Center (MRC) Friday, Sept. 21, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Port of Gulfport.
Located on Highway 90 at the Port’s entrance, the new research center is the centerpiece for a new maritime blue economy in South Mississippi. The MRC provides shoreside support to USM’s 135-foot oceanographic research vessel, the R/V Point Sur, and to a number of academic programs.