Industry News

Midwestern State University will begin construction in fall of 2017 on a $40 million facility for the Gunn College of Health Sciences and Human Services in Wichita Falls, Texas. Designed by Randall Scott and Associates, the four-story, 85,000-sf building will feature an 80-student round classroom, a learning stair, a collaborative student lounge, and a full-height atrium. The center will provide simulation training suites, classrooms, and teaching labs for programs including nursing, dental hygiene, radiologic sciences, respiratory care, and social work.

Versum Materials broke ground in May of 2017 on a research and development laboratory in Hometown, Pa. Part of a $20 million expansion of Versum’s chemical manufacturing campus, the project will support the synthesis and purification of molecules to enable the production of organometallic compounds used by the semiconductor industry. The lab will accommodate approximately 30 employees and is expected to open in late 2019.

Franklin College broke ground in May of 2017 on a $17 million renovation and expansion of its science center in Franklin, Ind. Designed by BSA LifeStructures, the project will transform the existing 30,000-sf structure into a 51,000-sf building featuring flexible learning spaces that combine laboratory and lecture functions. Offering 16,000 sf of lab space, the completed center will provide nine collaborative learning spaces, 12 teaching labs, three research labs, multi-use classrooms, a teleconferencing suite, and student project areas.

Merck and Stelis Biopharma opened a joint bioprocess scale-up lab in May of 2017 in Bengaluru, India. Located in the Jigani industrial park, the facility will provide end-to-end solutions from process development to scale-up manufacturing for pre-clinical, clinical, and commercial supply of biological APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients). A cGMP manufacturing plant featuring Merck's portfolio of Mobius® bioprocessing equipment is also under construction at the site. 

The University of Texas at Dallas is constructing a 200,000-gsf engineering facility on its Richardson campus. Designed by SmithGroup JJR to promote collaboration, the project will provide 120,000 assignable square feet for the Department of Mechanical Engineering including research labs, teaching labs, classrooms, faculty offices, student work areas, and a 300-seat auditorium. The building will offer a mix of high-bay, wet, dry, and core laboratories to support research programs in energy, robotics, and nanobiotechnology.