Research Facilities

College Research Facilities

William C. and Ruth Ann Dewel Microscopy Facility

The William C. and Ruth Ann Dewel Microscopy Facility serves undergraduate, graduate students and faculty at Appalachian State University offering a wide variety of services in light and electron microscopy and image analysis. The CAS Microscopy Facility supports both research and teaching, and provides instruction and assistance on the use of state of the art imaging equipment.

College of Arts & Sciences Vivarium

The College of Arts & Sciences is committed to providing the Appalachian academic community with a safe, clean, humane, and efficient Animal Resource Facility. For information on the scope of activities, please consult the Vivarium Facility User’s Manual (274 KB, PDF).

Computation & Visualization Lab

The Visualization Lab is an interdisciplinary computer lab which provides high-end processing and graphic rendering capabilities in support of education, research and outreach activities. The lab is located on the second floor of Rankin Science West.

Dark Sky Observatory

Appalachian State University's Dark Sky Observatory is the research facility used by faculty and their students to conduct observational research in astrophysics. It is equipped with four telescopes, each used regularly for CCD imaging and photometry, with spectrographic instrumentation also available at the 32-inch.

Rankin Observatory

Rankin Observatory is the instructional facility on the main App State campus and is used for teaching advanced undergraduate astronomy courses in observational techniques. The RSO is next to the rooftop GoTo Lab Facility, used in Introductory Astronomy courses.

I.W. Carpenter, Jr. Herbarium

The Herbarium at App State contains approximately 29,000 specimens. The three main functions of the facility are teaching, maintenance of vouchers and development of a research herbarium with a focus on the flora of the Southern Appalachians.

Greenhouse

The Biology Department maintains the Greenhouse and Conservatory which supports a wide variety of outreach, teaching, basic and applied research efforts and holds more than 800 species across more than 100 families in plant inventory.

Other Research Labs

In addition to the Microscopy Lab and Vivarium, members of the science faculty maintain their own individual labs for research, usually involving both graduate and undergraduate students.

Grants & Research News

Research and Creative Activity at Appalachian (RECAPP) Logo

Submissions open for annual Research and Creative Activity at Appalachian event

The Office of Research and Innovation at Appalachian State University is hosting the seventh annual Research and Creative Activity at Appalachian (REC...

Dr. Yeganeh Madadi (right), assistant professor and director of the Robotics Lab in the Department of Computer Science, with YeRo, a humanoid robot, during the Robotics Lab opening on June 25 in Anne Belk Hall. Photo by Chase Reynolds

Department of Computer Science celebrates Robotics Lab opening

BOONE, N.C. — On Wednesday, June 25, the Appalachian State University Department of Computer Science celebrated the opening of its Robotics Lab in A...

Dr. Maggie Sugg is an associate professor and the honors director in the Appalachian State University Department of Geography and Planning.

Dr. Maggie Sugg receives grant to establish Appalachia flood-health resilience research network

BOONE, N.C. — Dr. Maggie Sugg, associate professor and honors director in the Appalachian State University Department of Geography and Planning, is ...

Dr. Zachary Russell, assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at App State, center, works with student researchers Ethan Humphries, a senior physics major from Kings Mountain, and Hunter Corman ’24, an engineering physics graduate student from Morehead City, pictured in the background, in the Ion Innovations Scientific Instrumentation Development Lab in Boone to assemble 3D-printed components for rapid prototyping of microscope designs. Russell has been awarded a $2.3 million grant fro

Tracking parasites in farm animals is tricky. AI microscope developed in NC may help. [faculty featured]

Artificial intelligence is being integrated into phones, search engines, and recently, microscopes. At Appalachian State University, researchers were ...

Research in the College

The College of Arts and Sciences understands the value of research for our students and faculty. We support, encourage and aid our students and faculty in their research and scholarly pursuits. For more information about research through individual departments, please visit each department website