Core Facilities

Features

SMAST has two facilities located in New Bedford, MA. Research is conducted at the school's two-story, 32,000-sq.-ft. building located at 706 S. Rodney French Blvd. as well as the 64,000-sq.-ft. facility at 836 S. Rodney French Blvd. with docking facilities on Clark's Cove, Buzzards Bay.

Facilities include classrooms equipped for video conferencing and distance learning, state-of-the-art research laboratories, and a greenhouse for the growth and long-term maintenance of aquatic photosynthetic organisms under natural light.

SMAST West Seawater Lab

The 2,200-square-feet, SMAST West Seawater Lab contains temperature-controlled rooms for long-term behavioral and physiological experiments and acclimation of marine organisms for culture and reproduction as well as a docking pier extended into Clark's Cove.

Lab Manager Forrest Kennedy in Seawater Lab at SMAST East.

SMAST East Seawater Lab

The 6,000-square-feet, SMAST East Seawater Lab is designed to allow scientists the ability to conduct multiple experiments simultaneously and is configured with the flexibility to accommodate faculty members’ research needs.

Acoustic-Optic Test Tank

SMAST's 90,000-gallon Acoustic-Optic Test Tank is designed for the development and testing of underwater measurement concepts and devices, and as a resource for local academic, government, and industrial researchers and product developers.

SMAST Conference Facilities

Contact us for reservations. SMAST's Conferencing Suite is ideal for boardroom-style business meetings, theater-style lectures, and large-scale talks and other events.

SMAST Biodegradability Lab

The Biodegradability Laboratory at SMAST is a state-of-the-art research and product development facility. Opened in 2022, the Biodegradability Lab is designed to study the biological breakdown of plastics in natural environments, and provide businesses with a space to test sustainable products and materials.

Technology

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are used to measure temperature, salinity, oxygen, and other parameters as they ply the oceans, sometimes for weeks. ‌
Coastal radar measures surface waves on fishing grounds hundreds of kilometers offshore.
A dedicated supercomputer performs modeling runs of ocean and climate scenarios that represent years of real-time.
Seafloor video equipment surveys the entire Northwest Atlantic sea scallop resource.
Estuarine and ocean equipment take samples from the marine environment that are analyzed ashore by mass spectrometers and an array of auxiliary instrumentation.