Burlington Standard

On Saturday, October 8, University of Vermont President Suresh Garimella revealed the name of the university’s new lake research vessel recognizing Sen. Patrick Leahy’s championing of the Clean Water Act and the many contributions to the university and region by his wife, Marcelle Leahy.

“Senator Leahy has shown unwavering support for environmental research and education that benefits Vermont and Vermonters,” said Garimella. “His decades of commitment to the improvement and preservation of water quality in the Lake Champlain watershed have made our region healthier and our future brighter. The senator’s stewardship of the research vessel project will allow UVM researchers to continue their important work well into the future.”

The first-of-its-kind research boat, a 64-foot hybrid electric aluminum catamaran that will serve as a floating classroom and laboratory, will be named R/V Marcelle Melosira, honoring the senator’s wife, Marcelle Leahy, and the legacy of R/V Melosira, the boat replaced by the new vessel.

“Marcelle Leahy is among the closest and most devoted friends of UVM,” said Garimella. “Naming Marcelle for her will remind all who encounter UVM’s flagship research vessel of her significant and lasting impact on the quality of life in the Lake Champlain region.”

Garimella revealed the vessel’s name at an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act and Sen. Leahy’s legacy of support for clean water initiatives. The vessel is expected to arrive next year at UVM’s Rubenstein Ecosystem Sciences Laboratory, located in the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain on the Burlington waterfront.

Throughout his service representing the people of Vermont in Congress, Senator Leahy has made Lake Champlain one of his top priorities. He has secured over $110 million in federal funding to clean-up and protect Lake Champlain and has spearheaded federal efforts to study the lake and to learn the most effective ways to preserve its natural beauty and protect it for future generations. 

Marcelle and other UVM research vessels and projects in the Lake Champlain watershed are high priorities for federal, regional, and philanthropic partners. Significant funding for specific projects and for the upkeep and operation of the fleet comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, and from the estate of alumnus F. Peter Rose ’54.

UVM researchers on Lake Champlain conduct a wide range of science missions from restoring local lake trout populations to probing global climate change. Marcelle will serve as a science platform and a floating classroom for UVM, as well as middle school, high school, and public groups taking part in NOAA’s Sea Grant Watershed Alliance education program. To meet those needs, the new vessel has a large interior lab and accessible teaching space—and is being constructed as a US Coast Guard-inspected passenger vessel.

The R/V Marcelle Melosira reinforces the university’s commitment to sustainability practices. Partially powered by two AC electric motors, the vessel will run on all-electric power for trips under two hours. Marcelle will be a low-emissions boat causing fewer vibrations in the water—nearly silent for students and researchers on the deck, and less intrusive under the lake’s surface for studying fish and other wildlife.

Original source can be found here.