SOUTH KINGSTOWN – The University of Rhode Island has received a total of $464,430 from the Champlin Foundations to establish a biomedical engineering design lab, build a “virtual gateway for ocean exploration,” and purchase equipment to assist disabled students.

In addition, $158,800 of the grant will be used to modernize the university’s instructional technology center, where faculty members will be able to experiment with emerging teaching technology.

URI said $116,840 will be used to build a Biomedical Engineering Capstone Design Laboratory containing 16 workstations for prototyping electronic and embedded devices, hardware testing and software development, among other things.

Another $112,000 will be dedicated to the Inner Space Center Data Portal for Exploration and Education, an Internet-based system that will provide streams of data for the study of oceans, the university said. The portal will be available to K-12 students, undergraduates and graduate students.

About $76,700 of the grant will pay for text-reading and speech-recognition software and will create a network of URI computers that can be used by students with disabilities. The grant will also fund training for student teachers who will work with disabled students. Educators also are looking to expand access to the assistive software to other schools in the state.

The Champlin Foundations are three charities that share a single management. They were established in 1932, 1947 and 1975 by Rhode Island natives George S. Champlin, Florence C. Hamilton and Hope C. Neaves.

“These projects generously funded by The Champlin Foundations allow our faculty to expand opportunities for our students and to hone their skills in the use of the latest technological advances to engage students,” Don DeHayes, URI provost and vice president for academic affairs, said in a statement.

Additional information is available at foundationcenter.org/grantmaker/champlin.