Director   Sandra A. Nierzwicki-Bauer
Associate Directors   Richard F. Bopp, Charles W. Boylen

The Margaret A. and David M. Darrin ’40 Fresh Water Institute, with research facilities both on the main campus and at the field station on Lake George, provides opportunities for Rensselaer undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and visiting scientists to study a number of ecosystems and conduct basic and applied research on environmental problems. The field station, located at Bolton Landing, N.Y., includes an Adirondack lodge, several small cottages, a boat house, and 7,500 sq. ft. teaching/research facility.

Computer-simulation models help to integrate field studies with laboratory experiments. Studies of ecosystem function and the influence of human activities on specific environmental systems are directed toward preventing or minimizing adverse environmental impacts. The Lake George ecosystem has been intensively studied for the past 30 years and will continue to be one focal point for the Institute’s research activities. Other areas of research concentration include the Hudson River ecosystem, the effects of acid rain on the Adirondacks, the effects of land use on watersheds, studies and controls of exotic species, and the effects of environmental pollutants on both terrestrial and aquatic systems and exotic species (Eurasian Milfoil and zebra mussels).

The Institute fosters the multidisciplinary team approach in both education and research with participants from the various disciplines within the School of Science as well as other environmental programs across the Rensselaer campus. Cooperative studies have been conducted with research laboratories and field stations of other universities.

The Darrin Fresh Water Institute also has facilities on campus with the W.M. Keck Foundation Water Quality Laboratory. This new laboratory is equipped with state-of-the-art instrumentation to conduct sophisticated studies of water quality and the fate of pollutants. Analytical equipment to look at the chemistry and microscopy equipment to look at interactions between organisms and substrates are components of this interdisciplinary research laboratory, located in the Materials Research Center.

Additionally, on campus facilities include the iEAR/Darrin Fresh Water Institute Environmental Multimedia Studio. This studio is being used for the production of environment-related multimedia resources. Ongoing projects carried out in this studio include the production and cablecasting of the Darrin Fresh Water Institute summer lecture series and production of the DFWI home page, which includes a “virtual tour” of research activities at the Bolton Landing field station. Visit the site at http://www.rpi.edu/dept/bio/fwi/.

The Darrin Fresh Water Institute is an integral part of Rensselaer’s environmental initiative. Summer courses, involving both classroom instruction and intensive field studies, are held at the Lake George site. Student participation in research activities at the Institute is encouraged.