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Engineering

University of Massachusetts Amherst Builds Sustainable Engineering Laboratories

Published 6/20/2024

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is constructing the Sustainable Engineering Laboratories, a national hub for clean energy innovation. Featuring flexible, multimodal learning venues, the $125 million facility was designed by Payette to provide technology-rich environments for immersive teaching and research programs. The vibrant structure will house the Energy Transition Institute, the Wind Energy Center, the UMass Transportation Center, and labs for autonomous vehicle technologies, energy storage, and ocean energy systems.

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Oregon State University Breaks Ground on Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex

Published 6/12/2024

Oregon State University broke ground in April of 2024 on the $213 million Jen-Hsun Huang and Lori Mills Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex in Corvallis. Designed by ZGF Architects, the 143,000-sf facility will accommodate team-based research programs in semiconductors, materials science, artificial intelligence, and robotics. These next-generation technologies will provide new solutions to global challenges in climate science, oceanography, and water resources. 

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University of Rochester Opens Expanded Laboratory for Laser Energetics

Published 6/7/2024

The University of Rochester opened the newly expanded Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) in May of 2024 in Brighton, N.Y. Featuring Class 1000 cleanrooms, the 66,600-sf addition includes general and wet-bench research venues, a laser computing center, and open office environments. The three-story structure will enable the construction of the AMICA laser system, prototyping of the NSF OPAL lasers, and the creation of next-generation targets, diagnostics, and optics for national security efforts.

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UConn Charts the Future of STEM with $1.5 Billion, 10-Year Initiative

Published 6/5/2024

The University of Connecticut has spent 10 years and $1.5 billion expanding and modernizing its science, technology, engineering, and math offerings, and increasing the number of STEM students by 4,000. The initiative, called Next Generation Connecticut (NextGenCT), included the construction of a new 198,000-sf facility and the renovation and expansion of the largest STEM building on the main campus in Storrs. The approach to both projects was to focus first on modernizing the way those subjects are taught and then on designing the space itself.

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UC Berkeley Builds Heathcock Hall of Chemistry

Published 6/3/2024

Construction began in May of 2024 on Heathcock Hall, a new 81,700-gsf interdisciplinary research and education building for UC Berkeley’s College of Chemistry. Accommodating programs in synthetic chemistry, physical chemistry, and chemical and biomolecular engineering, the structure will house six stories of research labs, support space, offices, and collaboration venues for investigators, faculty, and students. Heathcock Hall will be connected to two adjacent buildings—Latimer and Lewis halls—which also house chemistry labs.

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Siemens Healthineers Begins Construction of R&D + Manufacturing Facility for Low-Helium MRI Technology

Published 5/28/2024

Siemens Healthineers—a spinoff of Siemens that focuses exclusively on healthcare equipment, solutions, and services—has begun construction on a £250 million ($314 million) facility in the United Kingdom to research and manufacture a breakthrough sustainable design for MRI superconducting magnets that reduces the need for helium from 1,500 liters (more than 396 gallons) to a single liter (just over a quart). 

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Texas A&M-Texarkana to Break Ground on Business, Engineering, and Technology Building

Published 5/23/2024

Texas A&M-Texarkana is planning to break ground in late May of 2024 on the Business, Engineering, and Technology Building (BET), a 53,500-sf facility housing those three interdisciplinary programs. The $45 million project also includes a renovation of the Science and Technology Building, which will connect to the new facility with walkways on the second and third floors.

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Savannah River National Lab Builds Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative at USC Aiken

Published 5/14/2024

Savannah River National Laboratory is constructing the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative (AMC) on the campus of the University of South Carolina Aiken. Designed by Page and STOA Architects, the $50 million facility will enable the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management to engage in shared discovery with academic institutions, industry partners, and government agencies at the city, state, and federal level.

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Wexford Science + Technology and UC Davis Build Aggie Square

Published 5/9/2024

Wexford Science + Technology is constructing the $1.2 billion Aggie Square on the Sacramento campus of the University of California, Davis. Designed by ZGF Architects, the innovation district is being developed in association with GMH Capital Partners. The 8.25-acre site will feature an expansive plaza framed by three glass-clad structures providing between 230,000 sf and 310,000 sf each.

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Michigan Tech Opens H-STEM Complex

Published 5/8/2024

Michigan Tech opened the H-STEM Engineering and Health Technologies Complex in Houghton in March of 2024. HED designed the collaborative facility to drive academic excellence in health-related fields and accelerate the creation of human-centered technological innovations. Positioned in the heart of campus, the development collocates researchers in materials science, engineering, and neuroscience with faculty from kinesiology and integrative physiology.

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University of Colorado Opens Anschutz Engineering Center

Published 5/6/2024

The University of Colorado opened the $22 million Anschutz Engineering Center on its Colorado Springs campus in April of 2024. Designed by OZ Architecture, the three-story, 23,000-sf annex provides the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences with teaching and research labs, maker spaces, and active learning environments. The high-performance facility also includes an aerospace engineering lab, an executive conference room, computer labs, classrooms, and faculty offices.

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Siemens Opens Technology Center Garching

Published 5/2/2024

Siemens AG opened an innovation complex in April of 2024 that will consolidate its corporate research activities in Germany. The 140,000-sf facility was created in partnership with Technical University of Munich and is strategically sited in the institution’s science park. Siemens Technology Center Garching supports 450 engineers working in collaboration with 150 academic investigators to advance industrial artificial intelligence and data analytics. State-of-the-art labs are complemented by modern workspaces, conference rooms, and training areas.

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Carnegie Mellon Breaks Ground on Richard King Mellon Hall of Sciences

Published 4/26/2024

Carnegie Mellon University broke ground in early 2024 on the $252 million Richard King Mellon Hall of Sciences in Pittsburgh. Designed by ZGF Architects and R3A Architecture, the 338,900-sf complex will advance a new era of data-driven research, cross-disciplinary education, and creative expression. The transformative development will collocate the College of Science and the School of Computer Science with the Institute for Contemporary Art Pittsburgh in a prominent city intersection to foster connections with the local community.

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Seven Considerations That Help Shape Long-Term Planning for Research Facilities

Published 4/24/2024

The most accurate prediction about the future of science is that it cannot be predicted, especially when it comes to laboratory facilities that support higher education, research, and manufacturing. Attention to these seven key considerations can help futureproof laboratory facilities: floor-to-floor height, utility distribution strategy, exterior research space, specialized environments, hazardous components, structural considerations, and engineering criteria.

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MIT Dedicates Schwarzman College of Computing

Published 4/23/2024

Massachusetts Institute of Technology dedicated the new home of the Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing in Cambridge in April of 2024. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed Building 45 as a dynamic campus crossroads where diverse groups can connect and engage in shared discovery. The eight-story, 178,000-sf facility offers sophisticated research environments for the study of artificial intelligence and machine learning designed by laboratory planner RFD.

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