Research and Development

The international Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has released three new reports on the safety of engineered nanomaterials.

The University of Waterloo broke ground on the $9 million Summit Centre for the Environment in Huntsville, Ontario, in August of 2009. The 30,000-sf research facility will support environmental science and ecology with laboratories, classrooms, seminar rooms, and dormitories. Completion is expected by fall of 2010.

The Department of Agriculture announced in June of 2009 that it will provide $176 million in funding for renovations, repairs, and maintenance at 36 laboratory facilities. The funding has been allocated from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The University of Colorado dedicated the $56 million Science and Engineering Building in Colorado Springs in August of 2009. The 156,000-sf facility houses 53 research labs, 32 teaching labs, and 11 classrooms. The sustainably designed building houses the departments of biology, physics, and mechanical and aerospace engineering, as well as the National Institute for Science, Space, and Security Centers, and the CU Institute for Bioenergetics. Ground was broken for the project in 2006.

Medicago is partnering with Genepole to construct a flu vaccine manufacturing facility in Evry, France. The facility will utilize Medicago’s plant-based vaccine production technology. Construction of the facility will commence pending successful phase one clinical trials of an H5N1 vaccine.

Cord Blood America began building a 17,000-sf laboratory in Las Vegas in August of 2009. The facility will provide stem cell storage, processing, testing, and cryogenic storage when it opens by year-end 2009. A second construction phase will include expanded cryogenic facilities and a research laboratory.

The University of California, Berkeley is planning to construct the $112.9 million Computational Research and Theory Facility. The 126,300-gsf project will house the Department of Energy’s National Energy Research Scientific Computing (NERSC) Center. Providing 73,000-asf, the facility will house a 32,000-sf high performance computing floor and offices for NERSC and university researchers.

Lockheed Martin broke ground on a $24 million expansion of its Newton, Pa., campus in August of 2009. A 17,000-sf addition to the Product Team Building will house expanded manufacturing operations for satellites. The second project, a 15,000-sf conference facility, will accommodate up to 250 people. Both facilities will be built to attain LEED sustainable design certification. The Newton campus is the headquarters of Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems (LMCSS).

The University of California is funding construction of research facilities by loaning the State of California $199.8 million, to be paid back over three years at 3.2 percent interest. The state will then allocate the money to the University of California to support construction on voter-approved projects.

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration is planning to construct a new research base in Newport, Ore. The $35 million waterfront facility will house laboratories, offices, warehouses, a pier, and a boat dock. Occupancy is expected in July of 2011.

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Ill., was awarded $60 million in funding in August of 2009 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. $52.7 million will support research and development of advanced particle accelerator technologies and $7.5 million will support collaborative neutrino research with Brookhaven National Lab. The award is the second round of stimulus funding the lab has received, as $34.9 million was awarded to Fermilab in March of 2009.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research will begin construction in spring of 2010 on a $60 million supercomputer facility in Cheyenne, Wyo. The project team includes H+L Architecture of Denver, California Data Center Design Group, RMH Group, Rumsey Engineers, and Martin/Martin, Inc. Sited on 24 acres, the 100,000-sf facility will support climate research using sophisticated computer modeling technologies and will provide data storage for climate records.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is planning to construct two new office buildings in Chamblee, Ga. The $300 million project will create two research support facilities. A 294,800-gsf building and a 285,500-gsf building with accompanying parking decks will enable the CDC to foster interaction and collaboration by consolidating 2,000 researchers currently dispersed in leased locations.

Saint-Gobain opened its expanded R&D center in Northborough, Mass., on July 31, 2009. The $15 million project added 61,000-sf of laboratory, office, and conference space to Saint-Gobain’s largest international research center. Construction began on the expansion in July of 2008. The project team included architect Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott of Boston with A.J. Martini of Winchester as construction manager. Saint-Gobain is a manufacturer of building materials, plastics, ceramics, and abrasives.

Monsanto began construction in August of 2009 on a $12 million breeding center adjacent to its existing Canadian headquarters in Winnipeg. Located in the SmartPark Research and Technology Park on the University of Manitoba campus, the 29,000-sf facility will house laboratories, offices, greenhouses, growth chambers, and tissue culture facilities for the development of canola hybrids. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the project. Occupancy is expected by December of 2010.