The Canadian government allocated up to $2 billion in its 2009 budget to repair, retrofit, and expand facilities at post-secondary institutions. The funding represents a strategic investment in knowledge infrastructure.
Brookhaven National Laboratory will build a 37-megawatt solar energy plant in Upton, N.Y. The facility will be able to supply 6,500 homes with electricity and will be operational by 2011. The project is funded in part by $15 million from the state’s Energy Research and Development Authority and will be built by British Petroleum Solar. Additionally, Brookhaven National Laboratory will utilize 15 megawatts of hydropower to support the $912 million National Synchrotron Light Source II, which is slated for completion in 2015.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory completed construction of the National Ignition Facility in March of 2009. Located in Livermore, Calif., the ten-story facility will house the largest and most powerful laser in the world for research in nuclear fusion, astrophysics, national security, and high energy density science. The National Ignition Facility will officially open on May 29, 2009. Ignition experiments will commence in 2010.
The University of California-Merced is planning to construct a stem cell research facility in the existing Science and Engineering Building in Merced, Calif. Funded by $4.36 million in funding from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the $6 million research laboratory will feature a microfabrication facility to analyze stem cells at a single cell level. Construction could begin in October of 2009 with occupancy expected in October of 2010.
The University of Central Florida will break ground in March of 2009 on the second phase of the Physical Sciences Building in Orlando. Housing chemistry and physics research labs and offices, the $30 million facility will be connected to the first Physical Sciences facility by an atrium. The four-story, 62,000-sf project will be constructed with isolated slabs to protect sensitive instrumentation from vibrations. LEED sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility, which will feature daylighting and a green roof.
Strathclyde University is constructing the £35 million Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences in Glasgow. Designed by Sheppard Robson, the 8,000-sm multidisciplinary facility will support drug discovery and pharmaceutical R&D as well as housing the departments of physiology, bioscience, immunology, pharmaceutical sciences, and pharmacology. The six-story project will include a 160-seat teaching lab, research labs, interactive write-up spaces, and a pharmaceutical cleanroom.
Jacksonville University broke ground on the $11 million Marine Sciences Research Institute in late February of 2009 in Jacksonville, Fla. The 30,000-sf riverfront facility will support research on water quality, dredging, and marine mammal preservation with laboratories, a classroom, and a teaching pontoon. Completion is slated for late 2010. The architect for the two-story building is Rink Design. The LEED certified project will feature solar panels and a rainwater drainage system.
Honda R&D Co. will begin construction in April of 2009 on a cellulosic ethanol research facility in Japan. Located in the Kazusa Akademia Park in Kisarazu, Chiba, the 1,050-sm laboratory will produce biofuels from non-food feedstocks. The building will house research, development, and testing facilities. Completion is expected by November of 2009.
The University of California, Berkeley dedicated the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) headquarters on February 27, 2009. Located in the seven-story, 141,000-gsf Sutardja Dai Hall, the facility features the Marvell Nanofabrication Laboratory which contains two 15,000-sf cleanrooms. The multidisciplinary building houses research laboratories, offices, distance learning classrooms, conference rooms, and a 149-seat auditorium.
Idaho National Laboratory dedicated the $17 million Center for Advanced Energy Studies in Idaho Falls on February 20, 2009. Located on the banks of the Snake River on the campus of Idaho State University, the 55,000-sf facility was created in partnership with the state of Idaho and its three public research universities. When fully occupied, the building will house nearly 160 people including graduate students, researchers from INL and academic institutions, and private industry partners.
Abbott Laboratories opened its $300 million pediatric nutrition manufacturing plant in February of 2009 in Tuas South, Singapore. Located in Tuas Biomedical Park 2, the 5,000-sm facility will accommodate 300 employees. Abbott is also planning to open a $20 million nutrition science R&D center at Biopolis, where it opened its first Asian pharmaceutical R&D facility in January of 2009.
Rutgers University is initiating a $500 million construction program that will create new facilities in Newark, New Brunswick, and Piscataway in New Jersey. Supporting more than 20 building projects, the plan includes construction of the $25 million Institute for Health Sciences in New Brunswick, the $55 million Center for Integrative Proteomics Technologies in Piscataway, and a $5.4 million research laboratory addition to the Life Sciences Center in Newark.
The National Institutes of Health was awarded a 36 percent increase in annual funding as part of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. The NIH will receive $10.4 billion in addition to its existing annual budget of $29 billion. The new funding will allocate $1 billion to the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) for renovation and new construction of extramural research facilities and $300 million for shared instrumentation. $500 million will support renovation and new construction for NIH’s intramural facilities.
Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences broke ground on the $38.7 million Forensic Sciences and Biomedical Research Facility in Tulsa in February of 2009. Created in partnership with the City of Tulsa, the five-story, 160,000-sf building will house laboratories for biomedical research and forensic analysis. Occupancy is slated for fall of 2010.
The University of Colorado at Boulder is planning to construct the $40 million Aerospace and Energy Systems Building. The facility will house research clusters for earth sciences, sensing, space science and technology, and unmanned aircraft system design and fabrication. The Aerospace and Energy Systems Building will support collaboration with government and industry partners including Ball Aerospace Systems and Lockheed Martin.
