When tsunamis hit Asia in December, many of those affected in the coastal areas were among the poorest residents of their countries.

Prasad Gogineni figures sea-level rise, though more gradual, stands to have the same devastating effect for those who can least afford it.

And so as he works to found a new center for measuring polar ice cap melting and the sea-level rise it creates, Gogineni has his eyes on a larger purpose.

“We have a responsibility to help the developing countries deal with the impacts of global change,” Gogineni said. “I strongly believe, as a world leader, we have the responsibility to help the less fortunate.”

The National Science Foundation formally announced Monday it had selected Kansas University to lead a new Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets — or CReSIS. Gogineni, a KU engineering professor, will serve as the center’s director.

The $19 million grant NSF will give to KU is the largest single research grant received by a university in Kansas.

The announcement came at a press conference at Eaton Hall that included KU and Board of Regents administrators, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and a representative from the NSF. The grant was the result of a competitive process that started with 168 Science and Technology Center proposals and ended with just two grants awarded.

The research will center on why the polar ice caps are melting at an unprecedented rate and how the resulting rise in sea level might affect the millions around the world living in coastal areas. The center will develop, test and analyze data from sensors on the ground, in the air and from space to determine how quickly ice caps are melting and various physical properties about the ice.

The grant process took nearly two years, but the seeds of the project started in 1962, when Richard Moore came to be an electrical engineering professor at KU.

Prasad Gogineni, director of the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets at Kansas University, uses a graphic to show changes to the Antarctic ice sheet over a one-month timespan during a press conference at Eaton Hall. KU officially announced Monday that it received a 9 million grant from the National Science Foundation to establish the center, which will study polar ice and its potential effect on global climate change.

Moore, now retired but living in Lawrence, was unavailable for comment Monday. He specialized in using radar systems to track ice in the sea. The Navy funded the program to help submarines navigate icy waters during the Cold War.

It was Moore’s expertise that lured Gogineni away from his native India to KU for his doctorate, which he received in 1984.

Gogineni continued to work on sea-ice issues until 1992, when he started working on polar glaciers.

Since then, he’s gradually developed KU into a world leader in ice-melting research in an attempt to help determine whether the melting is a result of natural climate shifts or man-made global warming. The NSF and NASA have given Gogineni and KU several multimillion grants for developing radar systems to measure ice.

“Because I graduated from here, I have strong loyalty and want to see KU succeed,” Gogineni said. “Working in India, I was aware of Dick Moore’s reputation. I think KU still has that reputation worldwide.”

That continued reputation is due largely to Gogineni, said Scott Borg, who directs Antarctic programs for the NSF. The team Gogineni assembled — it includes about 40 researchers from 10 universities, NASA and several international and industry partners — is a testament to his stature in the field, Borg said.

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“He’s well-known, especially in radar systems used for scientific interests,” Borg said. “He has an excellent reputation. Even back when I first met him in 1994, he had an excellent reputation.”

Now, Gogineni is ready for KU to play an even larger role in research with global implications. He said he expected much of the major ice-cap research news to come from the new center in upcoming years.

“The resources make it easier,” he said of the new grant. “We were getting things done even when the resources weren’t there. That’s what got us to this point.”