(AP) — The University of Hawaiʻi will receive up to $210 million in federal funding over five years to lead a Pacific islands environmental research institute. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports the school won the right to host the new Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research following an open, competitive evaluation. The institute will replace the university’s existing Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, which has been operating since 1977. But this time more than double the money will be available from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The institute aims to better conserve and manage coastal and marine resources in Hawaii and U.S.-affiliated Pacific islands.

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