Industry News

Missouri State University is planning to construct an electromagnetic device fabrication laboratory at the Jordan Valley Innovation Center (JVIC) in Springfield. Funded by a $125,000 donation from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, the facility will enable scientists from academia and industry to engage in nanotechnology research and development to create devices that can sense heat, radio, or microwave energy for defense and homeland security applications.

The University of Pennsylvania has selected SmithGroup to provide master planning, programming, and schematic design for a new School of Arts and Sciences (SAS) Neural and Behavioral Sciences (NBS) Building in Philadelphia. The facility unites the Psychology, Biology, Genomics Institute, and Biological Basis of Behavior departments under one roof, creating synergy in teaching and research.

California State University, Fresno was awarded a five-year, $45 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities in early 2008 to construct a new biomedical research facility. CSU Fresno is one of 19 universities in the nation to receive the award. Aiming to integrate teaching and research, the project will support the Research Infrastructure in Minority Institutions (RIMI) program.

Quincy Medical Center completed the renovation and conversion of the Long Term Acute Care Hospital (LTACH) in Quincy, Mass., in January of 2008. The project team for the 20,700-sf, 38-bed private room project was comprised of Needham, Mass.-based Nauset Construction and architectural firm David H. Dunlap Associates of Hanover, Mass. The multi-phased, fast-track project included renovating and converting an entire floor within Quincy Medical Center on an aggressive two month schedule with upgrades to both the electrical and HVAC systems.

The National Hygiene and Epidemiology Institute opened the first Vietnamese BSL-3 laboratory meeting international standards in Hanoi in January of 2008. Construction began on the $8 million project in August of 2006 and reached completion in December of 2007. The facility was funded by the government of Japan and will accommodate research on diseases including avian influenza and SARS. The National Hygiene and Epidemiology Institute will work with the Japanese government to implement a $2 million project to train ten officials in the operation of the laboratory.