This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). <br/><br/>Funds from the Academic Research Infrastructure Program will be used to renovate the Natural Science Research Facility (NSRF) at Northeastern State University. The NSRF is an approximately 2,500 square foot building located 200 yards from the main science building on the NSU Tahlequah campus. The renovation will repair structural damage, expand the laboratory space and update benches and cabinetry. The walls defining the conference room and office spaces will be removed to produce a large, open-laboratory space. Within the expanded laboratory space, four fume hoods and four large benches with appropriate utilities will be installed. The instrument and storage rooms will be renovated to accommodate shared instruments. <br/><br/>The research supported by this project will enhance understanding in several important areas including energy storage devices, marine and freshwater ecosystems, and cellular interactions during infection processes. The renovated facilities will increase these researchers' rate of progress and facilitate collaboration. Undergraduate students will benefit by contributing to the research projects, including Native American students who comprise 28% of the student body.