Research Centers

Passaic River Institute (PRI)

The Passaic River Institute serves as an important repository of knowledge as related to the severely impacted Passaic river basin in Northern New Jersey. PRI, directed by Dr. K. Barrett conducts scientifically sound research, monitoring and assessment, publishing findings in technical reports and peer-reviewed journals. Research areas include contaminant biological uptake, ecotoxicology, pollutant fate, transport and distribution, ecosystem degradation and restoration, and effectiveness of environmental policy. The Institute vigorously seeks external funding to support this research. PRI also develops scientific content for environmental education programs and supports science teachers in delivering this content. PRI organizes academic and public conferences to facilitate exchange of ideas and information regarding the basin – three Passaic River Symposia have been organized between 2004 and 2008. PRI cooperates and collaborates with public and private sectors including federal, state and local agencies, corporations, schools and environmental advocacy groups.

PSEG Institute for Sustainabilty Studies (ISS)

The PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies (ISS) at Montclair State University was founded in 2009 to play a transformative role in transdisciplinary research and education to address the relevant sustainability issues of our time.

Sustainable development is a catch-phrase for the need to reconcile human dominance of the earth's natural resources with the planet's ability to provide them over the long-term. In part it is a need borne of recognition that the human condition has placed potentially irreversible stresses on the relationship between the environment and human progress, and the recognition that more needs to be done to reverse these and other unsustainable practices.

The mission of the ISS is to conduct research, education and outreach to balance conservation and preservation of Earth's life support systems with their production of sustainable goods and services for human welfare, now and in the future.

New Jersey School of Conservation (NJSOC)

NJSOC is the Environmental Education Field Campus of Montclair State University. It is the oldest university-operated environmental education center in the US. It is located 57 miles (92 km) from the Montclair campus on a 240-acre (0.97 km2) tract located in Stokes State Forest in Sussex County, New Jersey, with dormitories and complete food service. Directed by Dr. William Thomas, the mission of the School is to convey knowledge of how Earth systems operate and how human actions affect these systems. The School’s goal is to educate and cultivate environmentally responsible behaviors that lead to the resolution of current environmental problems, the avoidance of future environmental problems, and the promotion for sustainable environmental practices. The environmental education programs provide field experiences in the environmental sciences, humanities, outdoor pursuits, and the social sciences. Each academic year the School provides environmental education programs for nearly 9,000 elementary/secondary school students, and nearly 1,000 teachers from about 100 schools. It serves as an excellent field site for research projects conducted by the masters and doctoral students in Environmental Management.

Remote Sensing Laboratory (RSL)

RSL is located in the Department of Earth and Environmental Studies and promotes the goals of the graduate and doctoral education in Environmental Management. Research activities in the lab, headed by Dr. M. Chopping are sponsored by NASA. Current projects include: using data from NASA's Earth Observing System satellite instruments to map carbon pools in arid environments of the southwestern US; exploiting data from the Compact High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (CHRIS) flown on the European Space Agency's PROBA satellite. A current research focus is the use of data from the unique NASA/JPL Multiangle Imaging Spectro-Radiometer (MISR), including cutting-edge work on mapping forest canopy height as well as crown cover; and mapping woody plant cover and community type in desert grasslands. Equipment comprises Sun and Mac Unix workstations linked via high speed networking to CSAM servers, as well as PCs, plotters, and a high resolution drum scanner. Software includes ERDAS Imagine, Arc/INFO, ENVI, IDL, ArcGIS, and proprietary codes.