Research and Development

The University of Illinois broke ground in October of 2011 on the $95 million Electrical and Computer Engineering Building in Urbana. The six-story, 232,000-sf facility will house advanced classrooms, labs, and equipment suites for interdisciplinary research in energy, biotechnology, nanotechnology, computing, and communications. Designed by SmithGroup of Chicago, the project will enable UI to consolidate programs currently housed in several locations.

Oregon State University opened the $62.5 million Linus Pauling Science Center in Corvallis in October of 2011. The 105,000-sf teaching and research facility features flexible 24-person lab modules and a 180-seat multimedia auditorium. The center houses the Linus Pauling Institute which promotes the study of micronutrients, vitamins, and phytochemicals for disease prevention. The facility also provides research space for the Department of Chemistry, including a cleanroom and an imaging suite with magnetic resonance and electron microscopy instrumentation.

Texas A&M University opened the Building Information Modeling Computer-Aided Virtual Environment (BIM CAVE) in October of 2011 in College Station. Located on the fourth floor of the Department of Construction Science's Langford Architecture Center, the laboratory enables students and researchers to explore building systems with an array of twelve 46-inch monitors for immersive visualization. 

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences broke ground in October of 2011 on a third research facility at its Ocean Science and Education campus in East Boothbay, Maine. The $11.4 million Bigelow Center for Ocean Health will include a 16,600-sf building and a 1,200-sf shore facility with dock space for research vessels. The completed 60,000-sf campus will include the Bigelow Center for Blue Biotechnology, to be occupied in December of 2012, and the Center for Ocean Biogeochemistry and Climate Change, which is expected to reach completion in spring of 2012.

The University of Minnesota broke ground on an $83 million physics and nanotechnology building in Minneapolis in October of 2011. The 60,000-sf building will house 40 laboratories for the College of Science and Engineering and a 5,000-sf cleanroom. Completion is expected in November of 2013.

Marquette University opened the $50 million Engineering Hall in October of 2011 in Milwaukee. The five-story, 115,000-sf facility houses 38 laboratories, offices, common areas, and a two-story materials and structural testing lab. Functioning as a living laboratory, Engineering Hall includes over 100 sensors to measure temperature, humidity, and electricity use to support instruction in building management and construction science. Ground was broken on the facility in spring of 2010.

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.

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.

The Jackson Laboratory is planning to build a $1.1 billion animal research facility on the University of Connecticut Health Center's Farmington campus. The first phase of the project will include a 173,000-sf facility housing laboratory and vivarium space. The public-private partnership will support biomedical research for the creation of personalized medicine solutions. Construction will begin in early 2013 with completion expected in late 2014. The completed Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine will eventually total 250,000 sf.

Winthrop University Hospital will build a $65 million research facility in Mineola, N.Y. The four-story, 95,000-sf facility will provide space for clinical trials as well as housing laboratories for the study of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. Construction is expected to begin in spring of 2012 with completion expected in 2014.

The City University of New York (CUNY) has awarded Skanska USA Building a $373 million contract to complete the final phase of the Advanced Science Research Campus in Manhattan. The project includes interior fit-out of 400,000 sf, comprising a four-story City College of New York building, a five-story Advanced Science and Research Center building, and a shared ground floor plaza. The contract also includes development of advanced imaging facilities, a cleanroom, a vivarium, an auditorium, office space, and mechanical and loading dock areas.

Harvard University's Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology opened its new facility in October of 2011 in Cambridge, Mass. The renovated Sherman Fairchild Biochemistry Building is now dedicated entirely to stem cell research, consolidating lab space previously housed in separate locations. 

Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute broke ground on the Chronic Diseases Clinical Research Center in October of 2011. Located on the campus of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, Calif., the two-story, 23,171-sf facility will house the Center for Rehabilitative Medicine, the Center for Atherosclerosis Research, the HIV/AIDS research program, and the Investigational Drug Service. The building will also include clinical research space.