Despite its remote location in the Michigan Upper Peninsula, UNDERC has outstanding facilities to support research and teaching programs. Nearly all of these facilities are new or newly remodelled. These include exceptional quality housing sufficient to accommodate up to 65 students and researchers, a research and teaching laboratory building, a lakeside wet laboratory building, a large enclosed storage and project construction facility, and a building for the storage of flammables and other chemicals.
The 8,500 sq. ft. teaching and research laboratory, completed
in 1994, has 10 research laboratories, including one that also functions
as a darkroom. Laboratories are outfitted with 4 ft. hoods, chemical
resistant counter tops and seamless flooring, and have 18 megaohm RO water,
hot and cold water, gas, compressed air, vacuum, and both 110v and 220v
electrical outlets. All electrical outlets in the building are centrally
protected from voltage surges and spikes and some outlets in each room
are on the building's emergency generator. The building also contains a
room designed for the processing of field samples that is outfitted with
silt traps and special sinks for washing and sorting samples. Teaching
operations are supported by a lecture room and general laboratory that
can accommodate up to 20 students each, and a class analytical chemistry
laboratory. The building also contains a small library, a computer laboratory,
a researcher conference room, and an administrative office. The building
is fully wired for Ethernet, with more than 120 10Base-T jacks that are
located in virtually every room. Internet access is provided free of charge through DSL (2MB download/512K upoad).
A HP Laserjet 4050N serves both IBM compatible and Macintosh computers
through an ethernet network. Fax service and a photocopy machine are also
available for general use.
Many environmental innovations are incorporated into the building design. These include superinsulated wall and ceilings, heat recovery from the building exhaust (including its 11 fume hoods), a groundwater-based dehumidification and air conditioning system, dual heating systems that permit the building's temperature to be safely and efficiently lowered when unoccupied, and a computerized control system that senses room temperatures and the status of all building mechanicals, which can be remotely monitored and adjusted.
Built in 2006, this building provides 8,259 sq. ft. for year-round housing (36 beds) and conferences. Occupants must supply their own linens and
towels. This building has three floors, in which all rooms are fully furnished. The first floor contains an apartment with a 
single bedroom (2 beds), kitchen (stove, dishwasher, all amenities), dining area, living room, large closet, and bathroom/shower. This floor also contains a large TV/conference room (capacity for 24), pool room, laundry facilities, and storage space. The second floor contains 4 bedrooms (4 beds/room + sink), 2 bathrooms (each with 2 stalls, showers, sinks), 2 fully-loaded kitchens, and large dining/conference area (capacity for 48). The third floor contains 4 bedrooms (4 beds/room + sink), 2 bathrooms (as decribed in 2nd floor), and TV/meeting area (capacity for 16).
For nearly 30 years, the 2,200 sq. ft. upper floor
of this structure provided the only research laboratory facilities at
UNDERC. This building, located immediately adjacent to a 165 ha. natural
lake, has been enlarged to 5,000 sq. ft. and is completely renovated. It
became operational in the spring of 1995. This facility includes a 1,500
sq. ft. wet laboratory with trench floor drains and overhead services,
a separate 250 sq. ft. room for aquaria, a vented storage area for the
storage of sampling and scuba gear, a sample processing room outfitted
with silt traps and special sinks for washing and sorting samples, 3 research
laboratories each outfitted with a fume hood and having chemical resistant
counter tops and floors, and 7 large offices. There also is a fenced area
adjacent to the building for outside tanks and aquaria. Services include
well and lake water, 110v and 220v power, and a low-pressure air distribution
system that can support up to 4,000 aquarium air stones. The laboratories
and aquarium room are heated for winter use, and the wet laboratory has
a forced air exhaust system but is unheated. The entire facility is on
a backup emergency power system and is wired for Ethernet.
The 5,000 sq. ft. storage and project construction
building contains lockable cubicles that can be allocated to researchers
for storage of supplies and field equipment. There also is a 900 sq.
ft. loft area above the cubicles that houses bulky field apparatus. A 40
x 50 ft. cement floor area is designed for the construction and assembly
of field apparatus and includes 50 linear ft. of workbench space. The
remainder of the building (2,200 sq. ft.) has a gravel floor that is used
for the off season storage of boats and field vehicles. The building has
electric power, but is unheated. This building was constructed in 1993.
Constructed in 1994, this building includes 125 sq. ft. of vented
space for the storage of flammables and other chemicals. The floor is
divided into 6 separate spill containment chambers for the isolation of
different classes of chemicals. There is shelving for chemicals and fuel
tanks and two metal 4 ft. wide flammables cabinets. The building contains
explosion-proof lighting and is unheated. A stand is located behind the
shed for storage of outboard motors.
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Habitats: northern hardwood forests, lakes and wetlands
