Facilities

The Plant Biology Graduate Program has numerous laboratories and outdoor biological stations required for research programs. In addition, the University has several centers that provide research support for our programs.

The DNA Facility supports research on nucleic acids with automated sequencing, oligonucleotide synthesis, and imaging capabilities.

The Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology provides ultrastructural analysis through sophisticated electron microscope facilities.

The Protein Sequencing Facility, located in the Molecular Biology Building, allows determination of amino acid composition, sequences of proteins and peptides and peptide synthesis.

The Texas Memorial Museum in the Texas Natural Science Center contains a collection of 5.7 million specimens in the disciplines of paleontology, geology, biology, herpetology, ichthyology and entomology. It also contains two research labs:  the Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory and the Non-vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory.

The Animal Resources Center has 14,000 sq. ft. devoted to housing a variety of animals used in research programs. In addition to the caging areas, there are surgical suites and laboratories. The resident populations include rodents, rabbits, dogs, cats, chickens, and quail. 

The Brackenridge Field Laboratory, an 80-acre outdoor facility,  located 10 minutes from campus, has numerous research greenhouses and controlled environment chambers which are available for experimental studies.

The Stengl Biological Station (Lost Pines), is a 200-acre outdoor facility located 45 minutes southeast of campus. The area combines the characteristics of the typical grasslands and woodlands of central Texas, the oak-dominated temperate deciduous regions of eastern Texas, and also relict elements of the pine forest which dominated the area 5,000 years ago. The "Lost Pines" area, because of its rolling topography, sandy substrates, and permanent springs, has retained the western-most stands of Loblolly Pine and bog-associated flowering plants, ferns, and bryophytes. This rich combination of Texas vegetation typical of old moister habitats with xeric elements which have since come in from the south provides an outstanding natural laboratory for studies in ecology and evolutionary biology. The availability of overnight accommodation for up to 14 people with austere but modern living facilities makes the field station a valuable resource for education and training in ecology and conservation biology. 


The Culture Collection of Algae (UTEX) includes approximately 3,000 strains of freshwater and marine algae for unrestricted distribution to interested investigators.

The Plant Resources Center houses over one million preserved specimens maintained in two herbaria: the C.L. Lundell collection, mostly of tropical plants, and the Texas collection. It is the largest herbarium in the southwestern United States and ranked among the top 5 university herbaria in the country.  

The U.T. Marine Science Institute has laboratories and boat facilities on the Gulf of Mexico at Port Aransas, about 200 miles from Austin. This provides access to a wide variety of beach, bay, Gulf shelf, and open Gulf environments. Buildings include a laboratory and classroom building, a pier laboratory over the Aransas Pass, dormitories and mess hall, and a library/auditorium building. Special facilities include a 105-foot research vessel (the Longhorn), a 57-foot trawler (the Katy), and outboard launches and skiffs. There are invertebrate, vertebrate, and algal reference collections and a library that contains some 8,000 books and 37,000 bound journal volumes in marine science and related fields.

Libraries

The General Libraries, with over 6.6 million volumes, constitute the fifth largest academic library in the U.S.

The Life Science Library contains 125,000 volumes and over 1800 journal subscriptions.

The Mallett Chemistry Library has over 50,000 volumes and over 400 journal subscriptions. Both libraries are equipped for computer searching of national databases.