RESEARCH
INSTITUTIONS GENERATE JOBS TO SPREAD
WEALTH THROUGHOUT COMMUNITY
24
TCBusiness.com
HARBOR BRANCH
From the laboratory of Dr. Joshua Voss at FAU’s Harbor Branch campus: Orbicella faveolata (mountainous star coral) is an important reef building coral species in the
tropical western Atlantic Ocean. The diver is collecting tissue samples to assess the impacts of water quality and thermal stress on the corals in Southeast Florida.
Quest for scientific discoveries fuels
local economic resources
Research facilities on the Treasure Coast
are quietly boosting the local economy by
millions of dollars while putting the area
on the map with each significant discovery
published by research scientists. And the
better known the Treasure Coast is, the
more likely it is to attract new companies
and institutions.
According to the state Department of
Economic Opportunity, or DEO, there were
229 researchers working in Martin, St. Lucie
and Indian River counties, representing
just 0.1 percent of the workforce. But they
make a significantly outsized contribution
because their jobs pay so well.
Helene Caseltine, economic development
director for Indian River County
Chamber of Commerce, said DEO figures
show that their average hourly salary in
2018 was $62.03 — for an annual average
salary of $129,000, without counting benefits.
That translates to $29.5 million for all
of the researchers combined. >>
BY SUSAN BURGESS
/TCBusiness.com