Off-Campus Sites
DU gives students the opportunity to take research off-campus in facilities such as the Meyer-Womble Observatory.
Your research at DU may take you beyond the borders of campus.
A telescope almost 3 miles high
Most of our astronomy students venture to the top of one of Colorado's tallest peaks, home to DU's Meyer-Womble Observatory, the highest telescope in the United States. Seated at 14,148 feet, near the top of Mount Evans, the observatory offers the second-highest vantage point of any telescope on Earth.
Because Mount Evans stands above 40 percent of the atmosphere's light-distorting effects, images produced by the observatory rival those of the Hubble Space Telescope in clarity and resolution.
See for yourself! Look at some of the most spectacular pictures taken from the Meyer-Womble telescope, or watch a video about research performed at the observatory.
A close-up view of mountain life
Natural sciences students can investigate the Rocky Mountain environment firsthand at the two-mile-high Alpine Field Station.
Located near Echo Lake in the subalpine area of Mount Evans, the field station provides year-round housing and support for researchers interested in high-altitude environments. A two-story lodge serves as dormitory, classroom and library, and an A-frame near the summit of Mount Evans offers rustic, short-term accommodations during the summer.
At the moment, DU's Department of Biological Sciences offers two week-long courses in residence at the field station—Alpine Ecology and Ecological Field Methods.
Other local resources
Along with using DU's facilities, a lot of academic departments develop partnerships with Denver-area organizations that have advanced equipment. For example:
- Students in the Department of Physics and Astronomy work with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., to study photovoltaics.
- The psychology department's close relationship with the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center lets DU researchers conduct MRI and MEG studies there.