Research Centers and Institutes

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COIFPM

The Center of Innovation for Flow through Porous Media (COIFPM) is the most advanced oil and gas research facility in the world. COIFPM is located at the High Bay Research Facility (HBRF) of the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming. The HBRF contains more than 90,000 square feet of high-bay and traditional laboratory space, and affiliated office and meeting areas. The research spaces facilitate research into unconventional oil and gas reservoirs, part of UW’s Tier-1 Engineering Initiative, and will house the COIFPM, Improved Oil Recovery Laboratory, and Geo-mechanical/Petrology Laboratory. The building also has a Structures Research Laboratory.

COIFPM was developed using more than $100 million in investments, and is the global leader in research, development and implementation of novel breakthrough technologies for oil and gas extraction and geo-storage of greenhouse gases. As the world’s premier facility of its kind, COIFPM is focused on developing cutting-edge technologies and discoveries that can transform the energy industry and change the world for the better. It is focused on flow-through porous media problems with applications primarily in oil and gas recovery, carbon utilization and storage, and hydrogen storage, COIFPM offers unparalleled capabilities at atomic, nano, micro and macro scales, establishing a massive capacity for users to conduct numerous multifaceted studies simultaneously.

INBRE

The Wyoming IDeA Networks for Biomedical Excellence (INBRE) Program is funded by the National Institutes for Health National Center for Research Resources (NCRR). The ultimate goal the INBRE program is to promote the development, coordination, and sharing of research resources and expertise that will expand research opportunities and increase the number of competitive investigators in IDeA‐eligible states. INBRE programs are intended to enhance the caliber of scientific faculty at research institutions and undergraduate schools, thereby attracting more promising students to these organizations.

The Research Development and EPSCoR/IDeA Office

UW's Research Development and EPSCoR/IDeA Office works to support faculty seeking grant opportunities to conduct research. EPSCoR is a federal and state matching grant program which enables Wyoming to continue to be nationally competitive in science and technology.  EPSCoR funding and state match appropriations are utilized to build science and engineering in higher education and a technology-based economy for the future.  EPSCoR has helped to move the State of Wyoming along the path of research and excellence by supporting the State's research endeavors. 

The UW Research Institute at AMK Ranch

The University of Wyoming Research Institute at AMK Ranch is a cooperative effort between the University of Wyoming and the National Park Service. With administrative offices located on the University of Wyoming campus in Laramie, the field research center at AMK Ranch in Grand Teton National Park was established to foster research in National Parks throughout the Rocky Mountain region. The field research center is open from mid-May through mid-October.

The UW Science Institute

The University of Wyoming's Science Institute enables world-class research and education that bring together disciplines across UW to strengthen the foundations of Wyoming’s present and future economy. SI is organized as centers that address specific areas of relevance to Wyoming and UW, including science education at all levels; wildlife biology; materials research; controlled environment agriculture; quantum information sciences; engineering; and rural resilience.

Water Research Program/Office of Water Programs

The University of Wyoming's Office of Water Programs (OWP), created in 2002 by the fifty-sixth Legislature of the State of Wyoming, is charged with identifying research needs of State and Federal agencies regarding Wyoming's water resources and serving as a point of coordination to encourage water-related research activities by the University of Wyoming. Wyoming EPSCoR/IDeA works in conjunction with and reports to the Wyoming Water Development Commission (WWDC) and the Select Water Committee and provides the University's advisor to the Wyoming Water Development Commission.

WyACT

WyACT (Wyoming Anticipating the Climate-Water Transition) is an interdisciplinary five-year National Science Foundation-funded project led by the University of Wyoming. More than 100 researchers, students and staff from 16 UW departments have participated so far. WyACT partners with Wyoming communities, practitioners, and decision-makers to understand, anticipate, and prepare for significant changes in climate and water and the impacts of those changes on interconnected human and natural systems. The work concentrates on the headwaters of important river systems in western Wyoming.

Wyoming Natural Diversity Database (WYNDD)

The Wyoming Natural Diversity Database (WYNDD) is a service and research unit of the University of Wyoming that maintains a comprehensive database on the distribution and ecology of rare plants, rare animals, and important plant communities in Wyoming. WYNDD distributes this information upon request under the philosophy that the best decisions regarding natural resources will be made only when everyone has access to complete and current scientific data.

Wyoming Sensory Biology Center (COBRE)

Wyoming Sensory Biology Center (SBC), is a phase I (P20) Center of Biomedical Research Excellence program (COBRE) funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). As part of the Institutional Development Award (IDeA) program, NIGMS provides approximately $10 Million in research funding over five years (2017 to 2022) to the University of Wyoming to support research activities associated with SBC. SBC Organization. Dr. Qian-Quan Sun, professor of Zoology and Physiology, and UW Neuroscience Program is the principal investigator (PI) and director of the SBC. The SBC is comprised of Administration Core (AC), Integrated Microscopy Core (IMcore), and four interrelated research projects. As a whole, the SBC will support four new junior investigators and four future faculty hires that are committed to the SBC, during the five years of the COBRE funding. The primary mission of the SBC is to foster and conduct high-quality scientific research that advances the understanding of our sensory systems and disorders related to them. A major role of the center is to support and mentor the development of junior investigators of sensory system function and dysfunction. The five-year goals of the SBC are: Establish a multi-disciplinary Center that brings together investigators with expertise in diverse areas of sensory neuroscience and experimental methodology and fosters collaborations to address key issues in sensory system function and dysfunction. Support projects of junior investigators by providing strong mentoring and guidance to help them obtain independent funding and professional success. In addition to research, investigators will be mentored on other metrics that are evaluated in Tenure and Promotion. Grow the SBC in both size and scope through the recruitment of new faculty, and fostering multi-disciplinary research among current UW faculty, respectively. Build the required research infrastructure by expanding the Microscopy Core Facility. Advance our understanding of the development and function of sensory systems and their dysfunctions.