Mainly it serves as a research and teaching resource for UW faculty and students, and as a state collection for general reference. It also provides research materials to scientists around the globe. It is the largest insect collection in Wyoming, currently with approximately 250,000 insect specimens. Jointly administered by the Wyoming Water Resources Center and the Institute for Energy Research, the SDVC is a transdisciplinary research program in decision-making technologies that emphasize linkages between a wide array of disciplines associated with Wyoming s natural resources and the geographic information sciences. This center supports research involving aquatic and terrestrial environments at its field research station in Grand Teton National Park.
Research ranges from bird population densities to tree disease control and management.
Center personnel also conduct research at 41 national parks, monuments and recreational areas in Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado and Utah. This herbarium contains a large collection of fungi located in the Rocky Mountain region and other parts of the Northern Hemisphere. It is commonly used by specialists interested in plant diseases. An independent, nonprofit research and development affiliate of the University of Wyoming, WRI conducts energy and environmental research in a multidisciplinary approach to developing innovative solutions. The Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory is researching disease agents in livestock, integrated methods of parasite control for improved livestock production, animal disease investigations and diagnostic techniques, and improving food and water safety through discovery and control of natural and induced toxicants and agents.