Darrin Freshwater Institute

The Darrin Freshwater Institute represents one of the region’s preeminent field stations. Situated right on the shore of beautiful Lake George, our facilities support innovative research, priceless long-term monitoring, and a beautiful location to convene researchers, students and classes, and outside organizations. Researchers at the Darrin Freshwater Institute work on a very wide range of topics related to environmental issues and applications. This work ranges from foundational advances in science and engineering—with a goal of better understanding the natural world—to very practical applications to help solve real-world challenges. The Darrin Freshwater Institute takes a holistic and integrated approach by involving researchers from across the entire Rensselaer campus, including departments in Biological Sciences, Earth & Environmental Sciences, Computer Science, Science & Technology Studies, Cognitive Science, Electrical, Computer & Systems Engineering, Industrial & Systems Engineering, Civil & Environmental Engineering, the Arts, and the School of Architecture. We also welcome outside field station users and are set up to support a wide variety of projects and initiatives.  This collaborative and inclusive approach makes the research conducted here transformative, impactful, and relevant. It also allows our researchers to attract a diversity of funding sources, including government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and industry. We welcome you to visit our facilities to learn more!

• Logo:
• UN Geographic Region: North America
• Street: 5060 Lake Shore Dr
• City: Bolton Landing
• Zip Code: 12814
• Country: United States
• State/Province: NY
• Latitude: 43
• Longitude: 73
• FSML E-mail Address: dfwi@rpi.edu
• FSML Web Address: https://dfwi.rpi.edu/
• FSML Year Founded: 1967
• Year Join OBFS: 2023
• University affiliation(s)?: Yes
• Names of Universities affiliated / Parent Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Address Line 1: 110 Eighth St
• City: Troy
• Zip Code: 12180
• Country: United States
• State: NY
• Contact Name: Jay Beugly
• Contact Email: dfwi@rpi.edu
• Contact Position: Facilities Manager and Research Specialist
• Contact Phone Number: (518) 644-3541
• Station Director Name: Kevin Rose
• Station Director Email: rosek4@rpi.edu
• Billing Contact Name: Jay Beugly
• Billing Contact Email: dfwi@rpi.edu
• Voting Delegate Email: rosek4@rpi.edu
• Additional Contact: Sandra Nierzwicki-Bauer
• Additional Contact Email: nierzs@rpi.edu
• Additional Contact Position: Associate Director
• Operating Budget: $200,001 - $500,000
• Size of Field Station: 1-100
• Private nonprofit organization?: Yes
• Federal, state, or local governmental partners?: Other
• Other: USGS, Lake George Park Commission, The Nature Conservancy, NYDEC
• International partner/s?: Yes
• Name of International partner/s: Uppsala University, Sweden; CSCI, Saville, Spain; Utrecht University, Netherlands
• Member of the Virtual Field?: Yes
• Open to the Public?: Yes
• Onsite staff?: Yes
• Year Round Staff: 3-5
• Seasonal Staff: 3-5
• Overnight housing facilities: 11-20
• Conference space: 26-50
• Food service or catering available?: Yes
• ADA accessibility: Yes
• Electricity: On Grid
• Distance to emergency services?: 0-20 minutes
• Internet Access?: Yes
• Library?: Yes
• Classes: Undergraduate
• Internships?: Yes
• Biome Type: Terrestrial
• Terrestrial Biomes: Temperate Forest
• Minimum Elevation: 0-100 meters
• Maximum Elevation: 101-300 meters
• Köppen climate classification: D (continental)
• Freshwater habitats: Yes
• Urban/Rural: Rural
• Dry lab space?: Yes
• Wet Lab space?: Yes
• Research vessels available?: Yes
• GIS capacity on site?: Yes
• Long term data sets?: Yes
• On site herbarium or voucher species?: Yes
• Formal Data Management Plan: Yes
• Outdoor manipulative experiments: Yes
• Research and/or graduate student training: 80
• Outreach: 20