Increasing research capacities at wild basin creative research center

The National Science Foundation Division of Biological Infrastructure awarded Saint Edward's University $130,437 on August 1, 2026, under the Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) to convert two existing offices at the Wild Basin Creative Research Center into flexible laboratory space supporting undergraduate and faculty research.

The project will establish a wet laboratory for sample processing and soil and water nutrient analysis, DNA preparation capabilities, and an adjacent dry laboratory for microscope work, museum curation, and field equipment storage. The facility will expand research capacity to address questions at the intersection of land-use change, drought, and biodiversity loss, with particular focus on rare and threatened species. The laboratory will bridge fieldwork and bench science, enabling rigorous cross-disciplinary work that the field station currently cannot support. Beyond research, the lab will strengthen K–12 education programming through hands-on learning in museum curation, biodiversity studies, and plant and invertebrate taxonomy.

Performance occurs at Wild Basin Creative Research Center in Austin, Texas, with a period of performance through July 31, 2027. No subawards are planned. The award aligns with NSF's biotechnology priority area and addresses the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts criteria.

Abstract

The goal of this project is to convert two existing offices within the wild basin wilderness preserve (wbcrc) into flexible lab use space that includes a wet laboratory to process samples and an adjacent dry laboratory for microscope work, museum curation, and field equipment storage. A dedicated lab space will increase undergraduate research opportunities for students from ST. Edward?s university and other academic institutions, while better supporting the faculty and scientists who work at the field station. This new facility will better equip researchers to tackle urgent questions at the intersection of land-use change, drought, and biodiversity loss, particularly on rare and threatened species, through new capabilities in soil and water nutrient analysis, DNA preparation, and microscopy. By enabling rigorous, cross-disciplinary laboratory work, the lab space bridges the GAP between fieldwork and bench science in a way the wbcrc currently cannot support. Beyond research, the lab will strengthen wbcrc's education program by providing k-12 students with hands-on learning experiences through museum curation, biodiversity studies, and plant and invertebrate taxonomy, connecting the next generation of scientists to the living landscape around them. This project aligns with the NSF?s biotechnology priority area. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.