Higher Education

McMaster University opened the $71-million Michael G. DeGroote Centre of Learning and Discovery on Sept. 22, 2005. Housing over 250 scientists that will work collaboratively to discover new gene-based medicines, the facility includes a specialized robotic microscope, one of three in the world. Featuring primarily open laboratories, the facility houses the Centre for Functional Genomics; the Centre for Gene Therapeutics; the Institute for Cancer and Stem Cell Biology Research; the Robert E.

The University of Virginia will begin construction in fall 2005 on the $71-million Carter-Harrison Medical Research Building (MRB) at its main Charlottesville campus. Housing approximately 300 scientists and laboratory staff grouped in 60 research teams, the 189,000-gsf facility was designed by HDR Engineering of Alexandria, Va.

Construction of two new laboratories and a central energy plant upgrade for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is nearing completion on its Quisset Campus in Woods Hole, Mass. One laboratory, the 32,000-sf marine research facility, was constructed primarily for researchers to study marine mammals and their environment. The second new building is a 35,000-sf biogeochemistry laboratory to study organic materials in the marine environment. The two laboratories increase the Institution's scientific research space by more than 20 percent.

The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine is constructing a five-story, 123,974-sf facility in the University City district of Philadelphia. Slated for completion in fall of 2006, the $70-million Vernon and Shirley Hill Pavillion will house teaching and research space, surgery centers, labs, and a vivarium.

Syracuse University is broke ground in April of 2006 on the $107-million Life Sciences Complex, an addition to the Center for Science and Technology (CST) on the college's Syracuse, N.Y., campus. Slated to open in fall 2008, the facility will double CST's existing footprint by adding up to 210,000 sf of laboratory and classroom space.

Texas A&M University will begin relocating departments in fall of 2005 to its new $28-million Science & Technology Center in Commerce, Texas. The 110,000-sf facility will be fully occupied and open for classes in January 2006. The three-story center will house the departments of chemistry, physics, and environmental and biological sciences, as well as pre-med and pre-dental professional programs, the Science and Math Research and Teaching Program, and a tutoring center.

Oklahoma State University will initiate construction on the 123,000-sf Helmerich Advanced Technology Research Center on its Tulsa campus in October 2005. The approximately $45-million facility will enable the university to expand its nanotechnology and sensors research, promoting the development of new materials for commercial applications. The facility will house 40 faculty and 100 graduate students. Completion is expected in fall of 2007.

The University of South Florida opened its new nanotechnology building, Nanotech I, on Sept. 27, 2005. Located next to the College of Engineering on USF's Tampa campus, the $4-million facility houses over $10 million in instrumentation. The Nanomaterials and Nanomanufacturing Research Center manages the building, which accommodates the research of 35 faculty members and approximately 100 students from the College of Engineering, the Departments of Physics, Biology, Chemistry, the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Research Center, and the College of Medicine. 

Harvard University has selected Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based Fluor Corp. to manage the design and construction of the 510,000-sf Northwest Science Building in Cambridge, Mass. Housing labs, classrooms, and seminar rooms for bioengineering, neuroscience, and biophysics teaching and research, the facility is slated for completion by year-end 2007.

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center dedicated Phase II of the Hamilton Eye Institute in Memphis, Tenn., on Sept. 26, 2005. The second phase of the $63-million facility is comprised of 28,000 sf of laboratories; 20,000 sf of examination rooms; 10,000 sf of education and training facilities; 8,000 sf of office space; an ophthalmic ambulatory surgery center; and a 99-seat auditorium.

The University of Hawaii opened a new $150-facility at the John A. Burns School of Medicine on Sept. 30, 2005. The building consists of eighty percent laboratory space, including a BSL-3 suite, for researchers and programs relocated from the UH-Manoa campus. Those programs include Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases; the Cancer Research Center; Cell and Molecular Biology; Developmental and Reproductive Biology; Neuroscience; and Genomics.

Western Michigan University opened its new 200,000-sf College of Health and Human Services facility on its Kalamazoo campus in September of 2005. Designed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, the building features state-of-the-art laboratories, four computer labs, multimedia and distance learning classrooms, biofeedback and motion analysis labs, faculty offices, and a 100-seat lecture hall.

Winston Salem University dedicated its new 62,000-sf Computer Science Center in September 2005. The $13-million facility features eight research labs, three computer labs, nine classrooms, and is connected to the high speed network known as Internet 2.

Northern Arizona University has broken ground on a $31-million facility for the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences on its Flagstaff campus. The 90,000-sf project will be sited in the Chemistry and Biological Sciences Building and will house 18 teaching laboratories, 18 research laboratories, and support space. Designed by Carter Burgess of Phoenix, the facility is being constructed by Holder Construction of Atlanta and is slated for completion in November 2006.

The Rochester Institute of Technology is constructing the 35,000-sf Center for Bioscience and Technology (CBET) in Rochester, N.Y. Slated for completion by fall 2006, the $14-million academic facility will house laboratories, classrooms, and equipment for programs in bioinformatics, biotechnology, forensics, and graduate studies.