Facilities
The UNSW Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences facilities support teaching and research excellence at UNSW and in collaboration with other institutes.
Our varied facilities support a range of disciplines within the natural sciences and in a range of habitats.
Boats
UNSW Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences maintains a fleet of three research boats to support environmental, ecological and fisheries studies around Australia. To be eligible for access to our vessels, you must become a registered user.
Chronos Radiocarbon Facility
The Chronos radiocarbon facility is UNSW’s radiocarbon dating laboratory. Chronos is dedicated to understanding how the planet’s climate, environment, and inhabitants have changed in the past
Computational & data infrastructure
Computational and Data Infrastructure is home to Australia's leading high-performance research computing environment. It provides world-class services, such as high-performance cloud computing and petascale data, to all domains of science, government and industry.
Fowlers Gap Research Station
Fowlers Gap is the only research station in the arid zone of NSW. Located 112 kilometres north of Broken Hill, the 39,000-hectare property was established in 1966 and has been extensively used by researchers from UNSW and other institutions in Australia and overseas.
Glasshouse
UNSW Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences operates a large glasshouse located on the roof level of the Samuels building. The UNSW Glasshouse is used for both teaching and research, not only by members of our school but also by researchers from other schools and faculties.
Smiths Lake Field Station
The Smiths Lake Field Station is located on the shore of Smiths Lake in the Myall Lakes National Park, ~100 km north of Newcastle. The station is used by UNSW Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences as a research and teaching zone, allowing students to study coastal and marine ecosystems.
The John T. Waterhouse Herbarium
The John T. Waterhouse Herbarium is internationally registered and holds over 61,000 specimens, including vascular plants and fungi, algae, lichens and non-vascular plants. Most of our specimens are Australian, with the majority from New South Wales and a smaller collection from other states and countries.