About Us
The UEBL supports three of the TU 2020 strategic goals: STEM Workforce Development; Internships and Experiential Learning Opportunities; and Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Applied Research. As such, it is a collaborative facility with a primary mission of enhancing student learning in the sciences and providing high-quality scientific research capable of informing environmental policy and best management practices related to urbanization, not only of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed but on a national and international level.
History of the UEBL
Faculty members from Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Geosciences at Towson University (TU) formally initiated the Urban Environmental Biogeochemistry Laboratory (UEBL) in 2005 with a focus on the functional interrelationships between the chemical, physical, geological and biological processes that control the sources, transport, cycling and fate of elements and compounds in urban/suburban systems.
The UEBL was established with the help of two NSF MRI grants as well as numerous research grants from diverse sources. The first MRI in 2001 provided funds to establish the ICP-MS lab. The second MRI provided for the XRF and CN analyzer. The UEBL has worked with federal, state and local agencies to provide critical scientific research capable of informing environmental policy and best management practices related to the rapid urbanization of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
In 2010, the UEBL was awarded a $1.4 million NSF ARI grant to renovate space on the first floor of Smith Hall. Supplemented by funds from TU, these renovations were completed and the space opened for use in October 2012.