The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded a $35 million contract in June of 2009 to Protein Sciences Corporation of Meriden, Conn., to pursue advanced development of recombinant influenza vaccine. The technology involves injecting flu virus genes into an insect virus (baculovirus) where it multiplies quickly in the insect cells, which are purified to become a part of a human vaccine.
The Department of Energy began construction on an $80 million groundwater treatment plant in Hanover, Wash., in July of 2009. The facility house a system capable of treating 85 million gallons per month of contaminated groundwater from the decommissioned Hanford nuclear site. Completion is expected by 2012. The project is part of $2 billion in stimulus funding allocated by the Department of Energy to support environmental remediation at Hanford.
The National Security Agency is planning to construct a 1 million-sf data center in Riverton, Utah. Supported by $181 million in federal stimulus funding, the project will enable the National Security Agency to protect sensitive information by decentralization of data from central computer hubs. Sited on 200 acres adjacent to land occupied by the Utah National Guard, the project will include a separate power substation, a vehicle inspection facility, a communications building, and training facilities.
The Department of Energy (DOE) and the FutureGen Alliance have agreed to develop plans for a commercial carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) facility in Mattoon, Ill. The flagship facility would be the first in the country designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The General Services Administration is planning to construct a $220 million forensic laboratory in Washington, D.C. Providing research facilities for the Department of Health's Public Health Laboratory, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and the Metropolitan Police Department, the 287,000-sf, six-story facility will be built to attain LEED Gold certification.
President Barack Obama pledged to direct three percent of the United States’ gross domestic product to scientific research and development at the annual meeting of the National Academy of Sciences in April of 2009. The $420 billion in funding will support research in areas such as the space program, sustainable energy, software development, and advanced prosthetics.
The U.S. Department of Energy announced the launch of the Hospital Energy Alliance (HEA) in April of 2009. The HEA is an industry-led partnership between the DOE and national healthcare sector leaders to promote the integration of advanced energy efficiency and renewable technologies in hospital design, construction, retrofit, operations, and maintenance.
The U.S. Mission to the United Nations completed construction and installation of an innovative chiller system based on magnetic levitation technology in April of 2009. Designed to cut costs and reduce carbon emissions, the MagLev™ chiller runs on a virtually friction-free compressor which eliminates heat and reduces energy consumption. The chiller was designed and manufactured by Multistack and installed by Martinez International.
The General Services Administration is planning to consolidate the Department of Homeland Security on the site of the historic St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. The $3.4 billion, 4.5 million-sf project will be the largest public works project since the construction of the Pentagon. The Department of Homeland Security will relocate 14,000 of its 26,000 employees in the region (currently housed in 70 buildings in 40 separate locations) to the new campus by 2016.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory will break ground in late spring of 2009 on a chemical and materials sciences research building in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Supported by funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the 160,000-sf facility will house 200 researchers engaged in the creation of solar batteries, corrosion resistant materials, and superconducting transmission lines. LEED certification for sustainable design will be sought for the project. Completion is slated for 2011.
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility will begin construction in spring of 2009 on a $310 million upgrade of its Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) in Newport News, Va. The nuclear physics research project will include construction of a fourth experimental hall and a 250-foot extension of the lab's underground accelerator tunnel. Completion is expected in 2015.
The Integrated Emergency Operations Center opened at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., in March of 2009. Consolidating emergency operations for the Pentagon Force Protection Agency and the Washington Headquarters Service, the facility will support improved joint decision making for emergency preparedness. Battelle provided design and construction services for the project.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded Novartis a $486 million contract in early 2009 to build pandemic flu vaccine manufacturing facilities in Holly Springs, N.C. The funding will support the design, construction, and validation of flu vaccine production centers over the next eight years, enabling Novartis to supply 150 million doses of cell-based influenza vaccine within six months of the onset of a pandemic.
Funding from the proposed $900 billion economic stimulus package, which may be approved in February of 2009, will be awarded to “shovel-ready” construction projects. Municipal and educational institutions will compete for the funding, which would be available for projects with plans and contracts in place that can begin construction within 18 months.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) began construction on a 120,000-sf laboratory in Boulder, Colo., in early February of 2009. Providing 58,000 net assignable square feet laboratory space, the facility represents an expansion of NIST’s existing Boulder campus and will support research in areas including precision measurement, nanotechnology, biochemical sensors, and quantum computing. The project architect is HDR with PCL Construction as general contractor. Completion is expected in 2012.
