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Darrin Fresh Water Institute Facilities and Resources

The Darrin Fresh Water Institute operates state of the art facilities both on Lake George and in the Rensselaer Technology Park.  The field station, located at Bolton Landing, N.Y., along the western shore of Lake George includes an Adirondack lodge (which houses a multi-unit student teaching and residence facility), several small cottages, a boat-house, and a 7,500 square-foot, multi-level teaching and research facility.  Students and researchers have access to a diversity of ecological settings that occur within the Adirondack Park and the facility is well-appointed with state-of-the-art equipment and resources to perform a wide variety of scientific tasks. 

Is your research group or department intersted in using our facilities? If so, please reach out to DFWI@rpi.edu to learn more about rates and availability. We can accommodate 25-40 in our conference rooms and dining space, and up to 15 people for overnight retreats.

Teaching and Research Facility

The Teaching and Research Facility consists of a variety of specialized laboratories and equipment for individuals performing research. On-site resources include water chemistry labs, a microbiology lab, a large teaching lab, and a microscopy lab.

Helen-Jo and John E. Kelly III '78 Data Visualization Laboratory
The Kelly Lab is a state-of-the-art research lab for high-powered data visualization, designed to mesh cutting-edge graphics processing with modern data collection. It is the core facility for bringing together researchers of The Jefferson Project.

Education Center & Lodge
Originally built in 1896, the lodge was significantly renovated in 2002-2003. The main floor contains a commercial-style kitchen and room for public seminars. The second floor contains sleeping quarters for researchers.

Cottages
There are two cabins for researchers. Shown above is Brookside Cottage, which contains three apartments, each with its own kitchen and bathroom.

Aquatic Research Facility
The Aquatic Research Facility is designed to conduct ecological experiments in a variety of aquatic venues, ranging from highly controlled laboratory experiments to more natural, large-scale outdoor experiments (using 20- to 300-gallon “mesocosms”), which are intended to mimic real-world wetlands, ponds, and lakes. The facility includes a temperature- and light-controlled animal room, wet lab space, a variety of freshwater research equipment, boats, and a fenced outdoor area containing 900 outdoor mesocosms.

Field Resources and Capabilities
The facility offers a wide selection of field equipment to facilitate research programs. This incudes several 4-wheel drive trucks and a large range of watercraft from a 36-foot cruiser down to canoes and inflatable rafts for research and sampling on Lake George. It also includes a wide range of lake- and stream-sampling equipment for research and education.