Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center

Tevis Research Center

The Tevis Research Center will be a memorial to the first resident scientist at Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center. Lloyd Tevis began his career as a biologist at UC Davis, and then joined the Laboratory of Dr. Fritz Went, California Institute of Technology, in 1959. In October of that year he brought the Caltech mobile Desert Laboratory to Deep Canyon, and established it in the vicinity of the current facilities. Lloyd rejoined the University of California later in 1959 and served as the reserve manager and resident research scientist of the Center until 1973. He supervised the construction of the original facilities and served on the Control Committee until 1972. When he left the University in 1973, he pursued other interests in the Coachella Valley. The Tevis family moved from the Coachella Valley to the Santa Rosa area in the mid-1980s.

The Tevis family recalls fondly their trips to Deep Canyon for family outings and to help Lloyd with his research. After his passing the family conceived the idea of honoring Lloyd with a memorial gift to Deep Canyon. This unsolicited gift came from the heart of the family.
The Tevis family decided that an appropriate memorial to Lloyd would be a facility to enhance research and teaching programs at Deep Canyon. The concept of the facility evolved from a utilitarian laboratory to a multifunctional building that will incorporate a research lab, a class room, a meeting room, and other academic facilities.

The drawings shown on this web page are our vision of the facility. Construction is estimated to cost $500,000. Fund raising is ongoing with half of the estimated cost raised to date (Dec. 2005).

1st level Floor Plan	2nd level Floor plan	Buildings	Parking
Front View		Rear View

The Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center in the Coachella Valley, near Palm Springs became a UC Riverside campus reserve in 1958, and was one of seven original NLWRS sites (precursor to the NRS) when the system was established in 1965. Yet the site still lacks adequate lab facilities and all classes must be conducted outdoors. To address this need, Reserve Director Al Muth worked with reserve users and UC administrators to develop plans for a 2,500-square-foot Laboratory and Classroom Building. The two story building will include a laboratory, four offices, a kitchenette, and restrooms on the first floor, with a classroom, library/resource center, and meeting room on the second floor.

Where classes today must be held outdoors subject to the whims of the weather and lacking any support for slides or demonstrations, the new classroom will be air conditioned, with white boards, A/V equipment, WAN/LAN connectivity, and ADA accessibility. The resource center will hold reference books, reprint collections, and four computer work stations for use by students and researchers.

The building will be in full compliance with UC’s green building and energy conservation policies, and will be constructed of concrete to lessen maintenance costs and resist invasion by rodents and termites