Industry News

The University of Minnesota opened the Medical Devices Center at the Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis on June 24, 2008. The $400,000 technology-rich facility will enable researchers to design, prototype, and test new medical devices. Housing a computer-aided precision design center, a fabrication facility, and a 3D surgical imaging suite, the Medical Devices Center is part of the University of Minnesota's Institute for Engineering in Medicine (IEM). The Institute will expand to a total of 50,000-sf of research and office space on three floors by 2011.

Utah State University dedicated its $13 million engineering laboratory building in Logan, Utah, in June of 2008. Housing research and laboratory space for the College of Engineering, the three-story, 38,000-sf facility will feature modular bays for undergraduate and graduate research.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has selected Amana Contracting and Steel Buildings to build the Dhs85-million Takreer Research Center project at Sas El Nakhl in Abu Dhabi. Located at the Petroleum Institute Campus, the 6,000-sm, three-story facility will include laboratories, a pilot plant, workshops, a gas bunker, and offices. Completion is expected in June of 2009.

Emory University will expand its Druid Hills campus in Atlanta with the construction of a 250-bed hospital, a 100,000-sf research facility, and a 395,000-sf outpatient clinic. Additionally, a medical tower will be built on the Crawford Long campus in Midtown housing 75,000-sf of medical research space, a 137,000-sf outpatient clinic, and 125 inpatient beds. Both projects are slated for completion by 2013.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia initiated construction in early summer of 2008 on a SR320 million National Health Laboratory in Riyadh. Slated for completion by year-end 2009, the 132,000-sm facility will be comprised of five towers and will support testing for diseases, blood, food, and medicines.