Industry News

The University of Tennessee will open the $37.5 Min Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building in Knoxville in October of 2011. The 150,000-sf facility provides 19 teaching labs, 15 research labs, two lecture halls, and faculty offices. The University also broke ground on the John Tickle Engineering Building in September of 2011; the duration of construction will be approximately 18 months. 

Drexel University opened the $49.7 million Constantine Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building in October of 2011 in Philadelphia. The 138,000-sf facility provides 39 research and teaching labs for biology, chemistry, and biomedical engineering. The building also houses classrooms, lecture halls, a 230-seat auditorium, and collaborative space. The project's central feature is a five-story biowall in the atrium that serves as a living air filter. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility.

Bucknell University will build the $22 million Academic West facility on its Lewisburg campus. The three-story, 70,000-sf building will house classrooms, labs, offices, interaction space, and 59 faculty offices. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the project. Construction will begin in 2012 with completion expected in 2013. 

Merit Medical Systems began construction in October of 2011 on an 118,000-sf R&D facility in Pearland, Texas. The two-story building will house 220 employees. Based in South Jordan, Utah, Merit Medical Systems is a maker of proprietary disposable medical devices used in interventional and diagnostic procedures.

Pioneer Hi-Bred will open a 50,000-sf seed research facility in Dallas Center, Iowa. The project will support agricultural product development and testing. Occupancy is expected in late spring of 2012. Based in Des Moines, Iowa, Pioneer Hi-Bred is a subsidiary of DuPont.