The Turkana Basin Institute (TBI) is a collaboration between Richard Leakey and Stony Brook University which ensures that research in the Turkana Basin continues to produce outstanding results with excellent scientific practice. TBI is privately funded and endowed. Our purpose is to support research in this region by providing logistical support to researchers working in this remote, rugged part of northern Kenya.
The vast landscape of the Turkana Basin. Photo credit: Lawrence Martin.The Institute now has two field research centers, with one on both the east and west side of Lake Turkana. Both are fully operational, though construction is ongoing. At the Ileret facility, at the northeast end of the lake, facilities are now in place and for the last two years, the normally significant problems of provisioning a field crew with daily essentials such as food, water, and fuel, have been greatly eased. Successful international scientific meetings have been held at each of the two field centers. These workshops further the TBI goal of promoting multidisciplinary, collaborative research, and to bring together experienced professors and younger minds to exchange ideas and research results in an informal setting.
The Turkana Basin Institute is affiliated with Stony Brook University in New York, and the United States International University in Nairobi. The International offices and faculty are centered in Stony Brook. Through Stony Brook University, TBI offers several postdoctoral fellowships to promote the long-term engagement of African scholars.
