Resources and Facilities

The Department of Biology is conveniently located in several new or recently renovated buildings near the center of campus. The departmental offices, most faculty offices and laboratories, and some classrooms occupy the seven-story Mueller Laboratory. Additional faculty offices and laboratories are in North Frear and Wartik Laboratories. The Institute of Molecular Evolutionary Genetics has its main office, a conference room, and library in Mueller Laboratory. The Biotechnology Institute of the Life Sciences Consortium, occupying four floors of Wartik Laboratory, houses several biology faculty members and facilities used by many members of the department. For exact locations of the Biology Department, please visit our Building Locations and Directions Web page.

• Computing Facilities
• The Nucleic Acids Facility
• The Hybridoma and Cell Culture Laboratory
• The Electron Microscopy Facility
• Physiology Laboratories
• Common-use equipment
• Field Sites
• Greenhouse
• Libraries

Computing Facilities

The Biotechnology Institute's (a Shared Technology Facility) includes incudes high end workstations, printers and a full complement of molecular biology and molecular modeling software packages. Among these are the DNA and protein sequence data bases, including GenBank and EMBL, which are kept current. Other computing facilities accessed through GEARS - High Performance Computing Group and ImmersaDesk for support of 3D visualization and virtual environments. Faculty laboratories also have personal computers, as well as Sun workstations, available for graduate student use.

For a list of Penn State's ITS labs use this link: http://clc.its.psu.edu/Labs/

The Nucleic Acids Facility

The Nucleic Acids Facility, provided by the Biotechnology Institute, serves the Penn State research community by providing automated DNA sequencing and oligonucleotide synthesis services using state-of-the-art equipment. In addition, about half of the Biology faculty have laboratories equipped for sequencing DNA, and most of those have DNA thermal cyclers.

The Hybridoma and Cell Culture Laboratory

Biotechnology Institute's - Hybridoma and Cell Culture Laboratory provides several services to the research community, including the production and isolation of monoclonal antibodies, assistance in the use of immunological assays including ELISA, and a range of services relating to the growth, maintenance, and storage of cultured cells.

The Electron Microscopy Facility

The Electron Microscope Facility is a research support lab operated by the Biotechnology Institute. This facility provides a wide range of services and equipment for transmitting and scanning electron microscopy. Services include consultation, training research personnel to prepare and image samples, and full electron microscopy services provided by the facility staff. The facility can serve multiple users in tissue preparation and sectioning, electron microscopy, and photo documentation of images.

View the equipment page for current equipment.

Physiology Laboratories

There is a broad assortment of plant, environmental, comparative, and mammalian physiologists among the faculty. Specific areas of interest include symbiosis, muscle performance, cardiovascular physiology, endocrinology, and neurobiology. Each laboratory is uniquely equipped for investigation in these areas and most incorporate modern molecular biotechnology and computer-assisted image analysis and data collection.

Common-use Equipment

Common-use equipment, including two Polaroid MP4 photographic systems and a Kodak automated X-ray film developer, are housed in two darkrooms in Mueller Laboratory. Shared research facilities include autoclaves, cold rooms, ultracold freezers, floor centrifuges, ultracentrifuges, and a poster printer.

Field Sites

The biology department is only a short drive from 6,000 acres of state game lands, Rothrock State Forest (90,000 acres), Allegheny National Forest, and University lands including Stone Valley Recreational Area and Nature Center and the Experimental Agricultural Station at Rock Springs. Several faculty members have ongoing ecological and physiological field studies at some of these nearby sites. Other habitats within a day's drive are accessible through the department's membership in the Marine Sciences Consortium, which includes Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Assateague National Seashore, and the Virginia Coast Reserve of The Nature Conservancy. Several faculty members have ongoing tropical field programs in Costa Rica, the West Indies, and Brazil. Penn State is a member of the Organization for Tropical Studies (Costa Rica) and the Archbold Tropical Research Center (Dominica, West Indies) and has field station facilities and course opportunities available at those tropical locations.

Field Sites Related Links

• Rothrock State Forest
• Stone Valley Recreational Area and Nature Center
• Marine Sciences Consortium
• Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge
• Assateague National Seashore
• Virginia Coast Reserve
• The Nature Conservancy
• Organization for Tropical Studies (Costa Rica)
• Archbold Tropical Research Center

Other sites of interest:

• Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
• Pennsylvania State Parks
• Kinzua Fish and Wildlife Association (Allegheny National Forest)
• Organization of Biological Field Stations

Greenhouse

Greenhouse Photo Gallery

The department maintains a modern greenhouse facility to accommodate the University's botanical collection, as well to provide for the research needs of the faculty and their students. The present structure, built in 1993, occupies more than 5,000 square feet divided into 10 growth rooms. Each room has independent environmental controls with ten kilowatts of auxiliary lighting. Additionally, automated watering and fertilizer equipment aids in maintaining research plants in a uniform growth state. The facility is staffed by a full-time manager who advises and assists faculty in their research needs. The facility is fully approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for housing transgenic plants.

Libraries

The biology department is fortunate to be adjacent to Pattee/Paterno Library, which houses the Life Sciences collections. The University Libraries has 3.3 million cataloged items, 2 million microforms, 310,000 maps, 29,000 current journals and serials, and more than 2 million other bibliographic items. Location, status, and other information on these items is available through a computer-access system (LIAS), allowing faculty and students to check library holdings without leaving their office. Bibliographic search software also is available over the Ethernet. For more library information visit our Penn State Libraries section.