UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Few facilities embody the storied history of Penn State’s Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) as well as the Garfield Thomas Water Tunnel (GTWT) building, which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary.
Located at Penn State University Park, the tunnel is the U.S. Navy’s principal experimental hydrodynamic research facility. In the years since initial construction, the GTWT has provided crucial support in the areas of marine propulsor and torpedo design, biomedical research, hydrodynamic and acoustic research, and renewable energy.