Building a research support hub at the macleish field station

The National Science Foundation Division of Biological Infrastructure awarded Smith College $649,936 on August 1, 2026, to construct a Research Support Hub at the MacLeish Field Station in Northampton, Massachusetts, under the Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074).

The project transforms an existing concrete block structure into a climate-controlled workshop and fabrication space and builds a non-heated facility for weather-protected project staging and storage of bulky field equipment. The renovated space provides a dedicated environment for assembly of research materials, processing of environmental samples, and maintenance of sensitive instrumentation including weather sensors and drones. New construction will house heavy equipment to support large-scale landscape management, enhancing field access and researcher safety. The hub modernizes station infrastructure to support novel biological research and expands experiential learning opportunities, upgrading the station's capacity to national standards and advancing national goals for scientific leadership and technical education. The project aligns with NSF's biotechnology priority area.

Performance runs through July 31, 2027. No subawards are planned for this award.

Abstract

This project supports the construction of a research support hub (RSH) at the macleish field station to enhance the research productivity and pedagogical reach. The RSH will modernize station infrastructure to support novel biological research and expand experiential learning opportunities. The project will transform an existing concrete block structure into a climate-controlled workshop and fabrication space and build a non-heated facility for weather-protected project staging and the storage of bulky field equipment. The renovated space provides a dedicated environment for the assembly of research materials, processing of environmental samples, and the maintenance of sensitive instrumentation, including weather sensors and drones. To support large-scale landscape management, the new construction will house heavy equipment to enhance field access and researcher safety. This project upgrades the station?s capacity to a national standard, thereby advancing national goals for scientific leadership and technical education. 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.