Latest Reports

At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), which ranks 11th in the nation in research expenditures, the question of how to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into research facilities is no longer theoretical—it is urgent. The institution operates a vast and diverse research enterprise across multiple buildings. That scale, combined with rapid shifts in federal science policy, has prompted a fundamental reassessment of how research infrastructure is designed, operated, and managed.

The landscape of academic research has shifted dramatically over the past three decades. Where scientists once worked within single disciplines, today’s researchers tackle complex societal challenges demanding collaboration across multiple fields, and the development of partnerships with private industries addressing the same issues. This evolution has fundamentally changed the approach to research facility design, requiring unique considerations for buildings whose users may not yet be identified and whose research hasn’t been imagined. As a result, the design process has become more cyclical, with fewer known variables upfront, requiring uncertainty management while still delivering buildings that will serve institutions for decades to come.

Collecting and analyzing data is par for the course in facilities planning and operations. But how is that data used, for how long, and how often is it updated? Poorly curated data can be barely more useful than no data at all. But many institutions don’t know where to start or how to make the best use of data they already have. Mining and strategically analyzing information can provide data-driven insights into space needs to help increase utilization, create space planning programs, and understand carbon footprints. 

No longer a place to just study and shush, the modern university library is more like a buzzing connection point for the entire campus. At the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, the recently renovated Mullins Library is no exception, with as many as 7,000 people going in and out every day. The largest of the U of A Libraries and central to the campus, the 300,000-sf facility now features new gathering spaces, new technology, and design updates that are adapted to the needs of today’s students.

Every new building is a gamble on the future, but some are bigger bets than others. These days, one of the highest-stakes wagers campus planners must make is how much to upgrade their high-performance facilities to meet tomorrow’s demand. It isn’t an easy call. Once relegated to distant basements, computer labs are now being built right in the heart of campus, a reflection of their ever-growing importance. With the number of majors that utilize high-performance computing expected to rise nationally by the end of the decade and the growing importance of cutting-edge supercomputers in recruiting the very best scholars, the overall direction is clear. But a lot can go wrong, which makes planning tomorrow’s high- performance computing facilities today very complicated and potentially risky.