Similarly, our education programs utilize the local environment to provide students a unique experience in the classroom and in the field. Norfolk is the center of this Eastern Virginia region and the hub of the world's largest natural harbor. It is a major center of research and development and a home for extensive scientific and technological activities in marine science, aerospace technology, ship design and construction, advanced electronics and nuclear physics. NASA-Langley, the birthplace of the space program, is located in Hampton, Virginia. First established in 1969 as the Institute of Oceanography, the Department of Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences moved into a new building on the Old Dominion University campus in Norfolk in 1997.
New facilities contain laboratories for biological, chemical and geological studies.
In 1991, the Commonwealth Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography began operation in a renovated building near the campus and houses all of the physical oceanography laboratories. The department also has access to the Barrier Island Program Field Station in Oyster, Virginia for use by faculty and students pursuing research projects on Virginia's Eastern Shore. The Holton is used primarily for estuarine and coastal studies and is scheduled for replacement in 2001. Three smaller vessels, suitable for near shore investigations, are also maintained by the department. Research requiring larger vessels is made possible through the cooperation of such government agencies such as NSF and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration .