Event Schedule

What you will learn: This course covers the basic elements of laboratory planning and facility design – upfront laboratory planning, laboratory programming, lab design, building design, and MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) system components. Participants will come away with a basic understanding of the terminology, concepts, processes, standards, numbers, types of scientific equipment, and furniture (as applicable) involved in laboratory planning and design. The course also serves as primer for the two-day conference that follows and will be highly interactive with Q&A throughout.

Who should attend: This one-day course is open to all who have interest in lab planning and design: project managers, facility planners and managers, lab managers, architects, engineers, construction engineers, researchers, and scientists employed at colleges and universities, hospital and healthcare facilities, pharmaceuticals, government labs, and A/E/C firms.

Space is limited and enrollment is subject to approval.

Cost:
$1,300 Fundamentals Course only
$1,100 with registration to two-day conference immediately following

(Fees include course materials, continental breakfast, refreshment breaks, lunch)

A hosted beer and wine bar along with light snacks will be served.

Attendees may sign-in and pick up their registration materials here, or the next morning at the conference ballroom foyer.

Guests welcome.

See the full list of participating exhibitors and event hosts.

Federal attempts to cap indirect cost reimbursement at 15% have threatened devastating losses for research institutions nationwide. The Joint Associations Group on Indirect Costs—a collaboration of 10 academic, medical, and research organizations—developed the Financial Accountability in Research (FAIR) model as a transparent alternative that is now being considered by Congress. As a subject matter expert in FAIR's development, Jenny Lodge reveals how this framework reorganizes research costs into clear categories including Essential Research Performance Facilities—directly impacting how institutions budget for lab infrastructure, equipment, maintenance, and space planning. With change inevitable, facility planners and research administrators must understand FAIR's structure to prepare their institutions for transitioning to accountability-driven models that ensure full cost recovery for research infrastructure.

As artificial intelligence, robotics, and advanced materials converge to revolutionize manufacturing, Aaron Stebner charts the disruptive technologies reshaping global readiness and commercialization. He identifies breakthrough areas demanding immediate attention—from autonomous production systems to bio-inspired materials and quantum-enabled fabrication. With federal initiatives like the Genesis Mission creating urgency to enable AI-operated laboratories, he explores the emerging paradigm of hybrid autonomous/human facilities where researchers and AI agents collaboratively program and operate equipment. He demonstrates how Georgia Tech's AI Manufacturing Pilot Facility exemplifies this convergence of remotely programmable infrastructure serving both manufacturing innovation and broader R&D. He prescribes strategic investments and collaborative frameworks that position organizations to lead manufacturing's next wave while developing the specialized talent pipeline essential for sustained competitive advantage.

Research institutions face mounting pressure to attract leading scientists and students while managing constrained budgets and aging facilities. This presentation demonstrates how strategic master planning transforms legacy laboratory buildings into competitive research environments that appeal to today's talent and deliver key capabilities. Presenters reveal assessment methodologies that identify infrastructure capacity, spatial inefficiencies, and architectural opportunities within existing assets. They share benchmarking metrics that quantify underutilized square footage and align facility capabilities with recruitment priorities. Through data-driven case studies, they illustrate renovation feasibility approaches that extend building lifecycles while delivering flexible, modern research spaces. They outline practical frameworks for optimizing current resources, mitigating capital risk, and positioning institutions competitively in the talent marketplace—all before considering costly new construction.

The University of Arizona's Grand Challenges Research Building serves as a benchmark for adaptable, high-performance quantum environments that attract interdisciplinary research funding while advancing decarbonization mandates. Presenters reveal modular laboratory design strategies that flex from wet to damp to dry configurations, accommodating specialized grant requirements like vibration control and total darkness alongside collaborative spaces that foster cross-disciplinary proposals. They examine all-electric MEP systems engineered for harsh climates, featuring high-performance envelope strategies that reduce operating costs while harvesting daylight and creating usable outdoor spaces. They detail the engineering decisions—from strategic metering that shaped HVAC design to accessible spare utility planning—that position this LEED Gold facility to capture competitive quantum research grants while achieving 2040 net-zero targets and supporting evolving scientific priorities.

Renovating existing buildings for research laboratories is often approached as a design problem, when in reality it is a decision-making problem with significant implications for cost, schedule, and research performance. This presentation reframes laboratory renovations as a front-loaded planning effort, emphasizing the importance of early, objective evaluation of a building’s suitability for specific research needs. Using a lab-planning–driven framework, session leaders demonstrate how measurable criteria—such as structural systems, vibration performance, space geometry and floorplate width, column spacing, floor-to-floor heights, and MEP capacity—can be used to inform early go/no-go decisions. By assessing these factors at the outset, they illustrate how project teams reduce risk, avoid costly late-stage redesigns, and align research ambitions with the physical realities of existing facilities. They examine case studies showing how informed early planning decisions have the greatest impact on project success, transforming lab renovations from reactive problem-solving exercises into strategic, data-driven investments in research infrastructure.

This session reveals findings from 89 institutions showing 54% average cold storage utilization and over half of stored materials unusable—yet cold storage consumes 16–26% of lab space. Kathi Shea demonstrates a data-driven assessment methodology that quantifies wasted space, energy costs, and carbon emissions across existing cold storage infrastructure. She shows how operational assessments identify opportunities to eliminate inefficient units and transition to centralized, high-density automated systems that replace up to 160 ULT freezers while reducing electricity consumption by 67%. She delivers actionable ROI frameworks for space reallocation, cost savings, and sustainability gains, and sets out integration strategies linking facility planning with sample management workflows to design scalable cold storage solutions aligned with evolving scientific needs and institutional efficiency goals.

This case study from USC Viterbi demonstrates the impact of digital storytelling technology in flexible, scalable research facilities to support interdisciplinary collaboration while honoring donor vision and institutional mission. Grace Johnson and John Roberson explore decision-making criteria for renovation, repurposing, or new construction in STEM environments and reveal what works—and what doesn't— to build a collaborative mindset in mixed-discipline spaces. They illustrate the embedding of digital solutions to enhance facility identity through integrated technology layers, unlock adaptability for evolving programs, and maximize engagement. They deliver actionable methods for deploying digital experience platforms that embed donor recognition, future-proof research environments, and create spaces resonating deeply with academic communities.

Research organizations face mounting pressure to extract maximum value from every square foot as funding volatility creates space allocation dilemmas. Augusta University is restructuring its Research Space Committee to address these critical utilization challenges created by funding gaps. Barbara Manley-Smith details the governance framework, policy mechanisms, and decision-making processes that optimize research space allocation when grants and indirect cost recovery falls short. She reveals specific metrics and evaluation criteria for identifying underutilized space, demonstrates the committee's restructured authority and stakeholder engagement model, and presents implementation strategies for supporting underfunded faculty while maintaining institutional research productivity goals. She outlines proven approaches for balancing space demands, funding realities, and faculty support within constrained capital budgets.

Courtesy of Tradeline

Renovating existing buildings for research laboratories is often approached as a design problem, when in reality it is a decision-making problem with significant implications for cost, schedule, and research performance. This presentation reframes laboratory renovations as a front-loaded planning effort, emphasizing the importance of early, objective evaluation of a building’s suitability for specific research needs. Using a lab-planning–driven framework, session leaders demonstrate how measurable criteria—such as structural systems, vibration performance, space geometry and floorplate width, column spacing, floor-to-floor heights, and MEP capacity—can be used to inform early go/no-go decisions. By assessing these factors at the outset, they illustrate how project teams reduce risk, avoid costly late-stage redesigns, and align research ambitions with the physical realities of existing facilities. They examine case studies showing how informed early planning decisions have the greatest impact on project success, transforming lab renovations from reactive problem-solving exercises into strategic, data-driven investments in research infrastructure.

Fluorescent-to-LED conversions present critical decision points for research facility infrastructure. This session delivers actionable intelligence on lighting technology differences and defines emerging metrics—Melanopic Equivalent Daylight Illuminance, Color Fidelity, and Color Gamut—with direct laboratory applications. Karen Murphy and John Hasnau demonstrate how lighting impacts physiological and behavioral research outcomes, review current regulatory requirements for building lighting, and present exclusive findings from an AALAS facility conversion survey. They equip design and facilities teams with evidence-based strategies to maximize LED benefits while avoiding costly pitfalls. They outline specific protocols for evaluating lighting systems against research integrity standards and operational requirements, ensuring facility investments support both occupant welfare and scientific validity.

Research organizations struggle to justify core facility investments, optimize utilization, and demonstrate value amid competing budget priorities and accountability demands. This presentation delivers a transformative approach to core facilities performance monitoring through advanced data analytics and automated reporting. Tess Vogts chronicles the development of Translational Research Institute Australia’s new foundational systems that turn fragmented operational data into strategic intelligence for decision-making. She details the practical frameworks for tracking utilization metrics, analyzing performance trends, and generating compelling reports that secure leadership buy-in and resource allocation. She demonstrates scalable analytics tools that move core facilities management from reactive troubleshooting to proactive optimization, support continuous improvement, cross-facility benchmarking, and evidence-based planning—essential capabilities for research organizations navigating funding pressures while maximizing scientific infrastructure impact and return on investment.

Rising construction costs and accelerating research demands are forcing facility planners to make every dollar count—the first time. This session reveals how commissioning expertise transforms costly system failures into preventable design decisions. Presenters illustrate how to embed operational intelligence into Owner's Project Requirements (OPR) to create research environments engineered for decades of reliable performance, not just day-one compliance. They profile proven strategies for flexible utilities, failure-resistant infrastructure, and operational teams trained to sustain your investment. They deliver a planning framework that answers what today's stakeholders demand: reduced lifecycle costs, minimized downtime, adaptive capacity for evolving science, and facilities that protect an institution's competitive edge through built-in resilience and long-term operational stewardship.

As government research funding plateaus and competition intensifies, this session reveals how institutions are forging strategic industry-academia partnerships to sustain research excellence. Presenters demonstrate proven models that integrate private capital into public university infrastructure, creating shared laboratory environments where faculty expertise, student innovation, and industry objectives converge. They profile how three institutions successfully combined disparate funding sources on capital projects while maintaining academic integrity. They analyze operational frameworks that enable rapid pivoting toward industry-driven research priorities and examine spatial designs where personnel, equipment, and intellectual property from multiple organizations coexist productively. They set out strategies for balancing student educational outcomes with corporate deliverables, and provide actionable blueprints for launching similar collaborative research facilities that satisfy stakeholder requirements across sectors.

Funding volatility, shifting research priorities, and unknown end-users are forcing research organizations to rethink what's most critical in lab design. Presenters reveal which specific design elements—from ventilation strategies to modular infrastructure—actually deliver adaptability when research programs pivot unexpectedly. They present measured performance data comparing traditional configurations against next-generation approaches, quantifying energy consumption, contaminant clearing, and operational flexibility. They demonstrate which systems accommodate converging research activities and incompatible equipment requirements while extending the life of aging infrastructure, and which "flexible" design strategies fail to deliver. They identify what separates theoretical adaptability from proven performance in labs engineered for funding uncertainty and unknown future users.

Blair Tennant and Melissa Chabot analyze tariff volatility, Federal Reserve monetary policy, and construction volume trends to deliver actionable cost escalation predictions for 2026 and beyond. They examine macroeconomic leading indicators—equities, GDP, job creation—alongside major commodity trajectories (oil, lumber, copper, steel) to reveal micro and macro drivers affecting research facility renovation and construction budgets. They present Vermeulens' latest construction labor weather map, forecasting regional cost trends and demonstrating its application for location-specific planning. They provide implementation frameworks for integrating annual escalation predictions into project cost planning and establishes risk reduction strategies for design, escalation, bidding, and construction contingencies. They deliver practical tools for controlling construction costs amid economic uncertainty, equipping planners with scenario-based forecasts and pricing structures that account for evolving trade policy and labor productivity shifts.

This end-of-day session is where key ideas, new developments, and findings that have been revealed over the course of the entire two-day conference (including sessions you may have missed) get clarified, expanded upon, and affirmed or debated. This is also the opportunity to get answers from industry leaders and the entire audience to specific questions on key and challenging issues.