History

Below is a summary describing the development and growth of the NSRL. For a more thorough history and overview, see the NSRL’s 50th Anniversary Report, as well as an illustrated timeline highlighting significant events and achievements. For brief biographies of former NSRL curators and collection managers, see our list of former NSRL personnel.

 

In 1962, Dr. Robert L. Packard was hired as the first mammalogist in the Department of Biological Sciences at Texas Tech University. Upon his hiring, Packard established the Mammal Collection at TTU with an initial deposit of approximately 350 specimens. Although originally housed in Biological Sciences, the collection was later moved to the basement of the Museum of Texas Tech University. In the early 1970's, the Natural Science Research Laboratory (NSRL) was conceived out of the need to establish appropriate facilities to house the growing natural history collections. The NSRL addition to the Museum was completed in 1973.

The collections housed in the NSRL initially included not only mammals, but also birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, invertebrates, and the paleontology collection. In 1996, the Paleontology Collection received autonomy and became a separate division under the Museum umbrella, and the paleontological specimens were moved to the basement of the Museum.

Although the early natural history collections of the NSRL were diverse, representing most phyla of the animal kingdom, the primary research focus of the NSRL largely has been mammals. This reflected the collections-based mammalogical research focus of the faculty of the Department of Biological Sciences that were associated with the NSRL from the 1970s to present day (including Drs. Robert J. Baker, Robert D. Bradley, Dilford Carter, Ron Chesser, Clyde Jones, J. Knox Jones, Robert Owen, Caleb D. Phillips, and Michael Willig). By the 1990s, this emphasis had left the reptile, amphibian, and fish collections underutilized at Texas Tech University. Similarly, the mammal and bird collections of the Texas Memorial Museum (TMM) of the University of Texas at Austin were underutilized due to that museum's strong focus on herpetological research. To make more effective use of these resources and to make specimens more readily available to scientists and students, Ed C. Theriot, Director of the TMM, initiated negotiations with Robert J. Baker and Gary F. Edson, Director of the Museum of Texas Tech University, to exchange the NSRL's reptile, amphibian, and fish collections with the TMM's bird and mammal collections. This exchange occurred in 2001. The collection acquired by the NSRL consisted of nearly 7,000 mammals, 1,700 birds, 800 clutches of eggs, and nearly 300 taxidermy mounts. Although the trade reduced the overall vertebrate diversity of the NSRL collection, this realignment of specimens with faculty strengths not only benefited both universities and improved the care of both collections, but it also served to strengthen the biodiversity programs that provide critical natural history information to society.

The growth of the NSRL collections necessitated a complete remodeling of the NSRL building in 1997-1998. During those renovations, which were supported by a National Science Foundation grant, collection areas, office areas, and preparation areas were isolated from each other to maximize safety and efficiency and to minimize potential contamination problems. A new room, equipped to house up to 11 ultra-cold freezers, was designated for the frozen tissues collection.

Between 1998 and 2004, the traditional mammal collection grew by more than 25,000 specimens, and the Genetic Resources Collection grew to exceed the capacity of the freezer room, necessitating the temporary housing of additional ultra-colds in an adjacent room. The rapid growth of the collections, and expectations for continued growth in the years to come, spurred the commitment of Texas Tech University to construct a new wing of the NSRL building, which was completed in 2005. The funds for this expansion were donated by the Ben E. Keith Company. The expansion more than doubled the size of the NSRL facilities to accommodate the growing collections, as well as to provide additional space for research and teaching activities, student offices, and an expanded library. The move into the newly dedicated space was accomplished through a second NSF Biological Research Collections grant. For more information on the history of mammalogy at Texas Tech University from 1962 to 2005, please consult: Mammalogy at Texas Tech University: A Historical Perspective, Occasional Paper No. 243.

In 2015, upon the retirement of Dr. Robert J. Baker as Director of the NSRL, Curator of Mammals, and Curator of Genetic Resources, Dr. Robert D. Bradley was named as Director of the NSRL and Dr. Caleb D. Phillips as the Curator of the GRC. Also in 2015, the NSRL was awarded a major grant from NSF to convert the GRC storage system from mechanical -80°C freezers to a liquid-nitrogen based storage system, and the University provided funding for renovations of the GRC facility (now known as the Robert J. Baker Genetic Resources Collection) in support of that project (see more about the liquid nitrogen project here).  In addition, the NSRL received financial support from The CH Foundation to install donated compactors (mechanical storage units) in the Fluid Collection and the Packard Library of the NSRL. These compactors greatly increased the efficiency and overall storage capacity of these two collections.

In 2023, the NSRL celebrated its 50th anniversary.  The occasion was marked by a celebratory event at the Museum; the publication of an extensive 50-year report about the NSRL's contributions to research, education, scholarship, collections growth and management, and engagement; and the development of an illustrated timeline summarizing the history of the NSRL.