Two Slater Centers get new leadership.

Talk to Thomas E. Vrabel, Ph.D., about the possibilities of the new Slater Center for Environmental Biotechnology and you get his sense of excitement about his job, as the center's executive director.

Vrabel -- who arrives in Rhode Island from Eco Soil Systems in San Diego -- talks about bettering the food we eat, about relying less on pesticides. He talks about improving, development of fish species as a way to jump-start the state's aquaculture industry. He talks about taking better care of our environment, and in turn, our health.

"You can expect to see improvements in equipment used for environmental monitoring," he said.

Vrabel, a graduate of the University of Connecticut and Cornell University, …