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Research that shapes the world around you

Learn about our research areas and facilities and connect with faculty as you consider topics of specialization for your degree program. With six areas of current projects and 17 areas of specialization, you're sure to find something that sparks your interest.  

Areas of specialization

Our program offers a huge range of specializations through our interdisciplinary faculty. Here are some examples of the specializations we offer.

  • Atmospheric chemistry
  • Biogeochemical cycling
  • Biomarkers
  • Chemical mass balance receptor modeling
  • Climate change
  • Environmental science
  • Environmental chemistry
  • Environmental physics
  • Environmental health
  • Environmental toxicology
  • Food sustainability
  • Food toxicology
  • Land use issues within Community Health Sciences
  • Nutrition
  • Public health
  • Sustainable agriculture
  • Oxidative stress

Learn about some of the exciting research currently being conducted by faculty and students

Food sustainability
Investigating sustainable food systems by growing berries hydroponically, studying plant-stress situations by examining the desert climate effects on plants, discovering and implementing locally sourced means of remediating arsenic in drinking water and looking at chemical interactions that will facilitate the removal of the arsenic using available materials.
Renewable and sustainable energy sources
By growing desert adaptive plants for biofuels, we are finding new plants to use for biofuels that require a low-input of resources to grow in harsh environments.
Resource management
We are working to improve existing processes and help the environment. Mining is a huge economic driver in our region, and we want companies to be using the best remediation processes available -- here and worldwide.
Climate change
Performing gas exchange experiments in the arctic tundra over frozen sea ice, looking at air quality impacts of unconventional natural gas and studying the prevalent issue of mercury pollutant cycling in the air.
Human health
Investigating air pollution and air quality affects on low body weights of children in Washoe county and analyzing nutrient content in foods for human consumption.
Environmental effects on animals
Conducting bird behavior studies by modeling how environmental issues affect the flight patterns of pigeons.

Research facilities and equipment

Our students work in an array of excellent research facilities with state-of-the-art equipment. Here are some of the facilities and infrastructure that our faculty utilize for their projects.

A researcher smiles as they touch a plant inside of a greenhouse.

Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station

The Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station is utilized heavily by our faculty and students. With farming land, a meat processing plant, and multiple field stations throughout the state, this is a great resource for our graduate students.

Three researchers examen a plant inside of a greenhouse.

Valley Road Field Lab

The Valley Road Field Laboratory is a short walk from the University’s main campus and is an ideal setting for urban agriculture and experimentation. With 27 acres designated for research and education, the property encompasses four state-of-the-art research facilities, including a 29,280-square-foot greenhouse complex, the Nevada Genomics Center, the Agricultural Research Services botanical tissue culturing facility and a fully-equipped maintenance engineering shop.

Looking out on an inlet over clear water in Lake Tahoe .

Dorothy S. Gallagher Great Basin Environmental Research Laboratory

This unique facility at the Desert Research Institute is used to study ecosystems and biological processes. One feature here is the enormous soil chambers on scales, primarily used to study water loss during plant growth with very high precision.

Another person is holding the hand of an elderly person as they do physical therapy exercises with a ball.

Sanford Center for Aging

We have had multiple students run projects through the Sanford Center for Aging, where they focus on public health issues and improving the quality of life for older adults through aging-related research.

A collection of various-sized glass beakers.

Organic Analytical Laboratory

Our students and faculty utilize the Organic Analytic Lab at the Desert Research Institute for atmospheric chemistry experiments looking at organic compounds in the air and analyzing contaminants.