Industry News

Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) officially opened its $4 million R&D facility in Crane, Ind., in March of 2009. Located on a former brownfield site in the WestGate at Crane Technology Park, the 37,800-sf building features laboratories for optics, high power lasers, rapid prototyping and development, and 4,000-sf of secure electronic warfare systems R&D space. The facility will house 200 employees for the SAIC Warfare Systems and Integration Solutions Operation.

Bristol-Myers Squibb opened its 20,000-sf research and development facility in Bangalore, India, in March of 2009. Located in Biocon Park, the project will house 270 researchers engaged in pharmaceutical discovery and drug development. Construction began on the project in March of 2007.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory will break ground in late spring of 2009 on a chemical and materials sciences research building in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Supported by funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the 160,000-sf facility will house 200 researchers engaged in the creation of solar batteries, corrosion resistant materials, and superconducting transmission lines. LEED certification for sustainable design will be sought for the project. Completion is slated for 2011.

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility will begin construction in spring of 2009 on a $310 million upgrade of its Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) in Newport News, Va. The nuclear physics research project will include construction of a fourth experimental hall and a 250-foot extension of the lab's underground accelerator tunnel. Completion is expected in 2015.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute is partnering with the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa, to construct a $20 million HIV and tuberculosis research facility. Integrated with the Doris Duke Medical Research Institute at Nelson Mandela Medical School, the six-story facility will include two floors of high level biocontainment laboratories.