DRI Spring Newsletter 2007

Collaboration on Common Ground:
TCES Provides Much-Needed Home Base for Research

Rock the boat: Guests test the waters of a replica
of Dr. Charles Goldman's research boat, with a floor
that gently rocks to simulate being on water. The
exhibit is part of the Thomas J. Long Foundation
Education Center that includes interactive exhibits
that give the public a hands-on look at the important research conducted at Lake Tahoe.

When DRI scientists talk about staging a research activity at Lake Tahoe, it may sound a bit like they’re getting ready for a Shakespearean play at Sand Harbor, when in reality, they are preparing to perform cutting-edge scientific research. No theatrics are involved, but scientists do use many props—such as DRI’s research boat—and creative thinking to tackle the job of keeping the beautiful backdrop of Lake Tahoe blue. Adding to this backdrop, and to the excitement of DRI researchers, is the new Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences (TCES)—a much-needed on-site laboratory that will help to set the stage for more top-notch, collaborative research.

The new $33 million building, located on the campus of Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village, Nev., opened its doors on August 21, 2006, after nearly two years of construction. The center provides DRI’s researchers—and collaborators from places like University of California, Davis and the University of Nevada, Reno—the opportunity to “meet in the middle” to discuss research, work on data interpretations, and create models all at one location. Sierra Nevada College, UC Davis, UNR, and DRI will all operate out of the new building.

DRI’s scientists are looking forward to the two equipment-storage and preparation rooms where field equipment will be put together, calibrated and readied for field deployment. In addition to office space for DRI faculty, the new facility also includes a small conference room where scientists can meet with agency personnel in the basin, as well as other scientists, to develop research proposals, present preliminary data and present study findings. The center also offers state-of-the-art analytical equipment for timely, on-site measurements, as well as visualization equipment, allowing scientists to create virtual images and models of their research to better understand Lake Tahoe’s changing environment and needs.

For a decade, DRI’s Lake Tahoe research has focused on a variety of areas, including atmospheric sciences, general air quality within the basin, shoreline erosion, stormwater runoff, evaluation of environmental restoration projects and hydrology.

“DRI has a long history of working in the Tahoe basin, and now the TCES will provide a more accessible home base for DRI scientists who generally commute from Reno for their Tahoe research activities,” Dr. Jim Thomas, Executive Director of DRI’s Center for Watersheds and Environmental Sustainability says. “For the last 10 years, DRI has been very active in the basin, working with local governments and decision-makers, using scientific research to preserve the Lake Tahoe environment. We do what is called adaptive management to make sure policies and decisions are based on sound science.”

On the first floor of the TCES, the Thomas J. Long Foundation Education Center includes interactive exhibits that give the public a hands-on look at the important research conducted at Lake Tahoe. Visitors will feel as if they are aboard a Lake Tahoe research boat, or inside a research laboratory, and learn from a life-size video host.
Exhibits in the Long Center and docents will describe how design and construction of the TCES incorporated numerous features that use recycled materials and are energy efficient. In this way, the building itself is intended to contribute to the environmental health of the basin and to be a resource for visitors and members of the Lake Tahoe community.

The TCES is a three-story building providing 45,000 square feet of academic and research space. It is entirely “green” in operation and design. In early 2005, the trustees of Sierra Nevada College decided to work to achieve a Platinum certification for the building from the U.S. Green Building Council (www.usgbc.org). The rating and certification system established by the council is known as LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and the “green” construction standards are the first independent national standards of their kind. Ratings range from Certified, to Silver, Gold and Platinum.

The TCES is expected to be the first Platinum LEED building in Nevada, possibly the fourteenth Platinum-rated building in the United States and the first “green” working science laboratory of its kind in the world.