Research and Development

Rutgers University broke ground on the $84 million Richard Weeks Hall of Engineering in May of 2016. The 105,000-sf facility represents the first phase of a planned engineering complex and will act as a gateway to the Busch campus in Piscataway, N.J. Designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative, the interdisciplinary teaching and research building will provide smart classrooms, wet and dry labs, a cleanroom, a high bay lab, offices, conference rooms, interaction space, and a team-based learning (TBL) lecture hall.

Columbia University is building the 450,000-sf Jerome L. Greene Science Center in New York City. Designed by Renzo Piano, the interdisciplinary facility will promote creative collaboration among scientists with inviting interaction areas and laboratories arranged in connected quadrants. The Greene Science Center is the first structure on Columbia's 17-acre Manhattanville campus and is funded in part by a $250 million donation.

The University of Wyoming began construction in July of 2016 on a $6.21 million renovation of its BSL-3 biocontainment laboratory in Laramie. The facility is being built as a 20,000-sf addition to the Department of Veterinary Sciences facility and will support research on wildlife and livestock diseases including brucellosis, plague, tularemia, and Q fever. The general contractor for the project is Sampson Construction of Cheyenne. Completion is expected in late spring of 2017.

The 80,000-sf, three-story New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health (IFNH), on the George H. Cook Campus of Rutgers University, is dedicated to promoting a healthy lifestyle statewide, and serves as a national model of interdisciplinary research and public health practice, with research laboratories and core facilities, laboratory support, a preschool, office space, team rooms, and a food service area.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority is planning to construct the $136 million Research & Development Center at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai. The four-building facility will be constructed using 3D printing and will support the creation of drones and 3D printing technologies for applications including solar power, energy efficiency, smart grids, and photovoltaic desalination.

Brigham Young University began construction in May of 2016 on a new home for the Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology in Provo, Utah. Funded entirely by donors, the $80 million facility will feature a dedicated laboratory annex, a student innovation floor, and a prototyping shop.

Cal Poly is planning to build the $57 million Science & Agriculture Teaching and Research Complex in San Luis Obispo. The 64,000-sf facility will provide undergraduate laboratories, technology suites, and instructional space for the colleges of Liberal Arts, Science and Mathematics, and Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. The project was designed by ZGF Architects with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory programming and design consultant.

Pennsylvania State University will break ground in summer of 2017 on a $144 million chemical and biomedical engineering building in University Park. Designed by HOK to promote interaction and collaboration, the 193,000-sf facility will replace the existing Fenske and Hallowell buildings where the departments of chemical engineering and biomedical engineering are currently located. The LEED-certified project will provide open research labs, a large lecture hall, classrooms, and administrative offices. Occupancy is expected in early 2019.

The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics has released a report showing that federal agencies obligated $30.8 billion to 996 academic institutions for science and engineering activities in Fiscal Year 2014, the most recent year for which such information is available. This represents a six percent increase over the previous year and the first increase in such funding since FY2009.

Valent BioSciences is planning to construct the Biorational Research Center at Innovation Park in Libertyville, Ill. Enabling the consolidation of the company's chemistry, biology, microbiology, fermentation, and formulations labs in a single location, the $22 million project includes the buildout of 65,000 sf to create labs and offices as well as the construction of a 10,000-sf research greenhouse. Completion is expected in mid-2017. Valent BioSciences is a subsidiary of Sumitomo Chemical Company.

The U.S. Department of Energy dedicated the $9.9 million Sensitive Instrument Facility at Ames Laboratory in Iowa in May of 2016. Accommodating microscopes used in materials science and clean energy research, the building features two-foot concrete floors with vibration-dampening layers, and the six instrument bays are lined with aluminum shielding a quarter of an inch thick to create an electromagnetic barrier.

The University of Texas at Arlington will begin construction in fall of 2016 on the $125 million Science and Engineering Innovation and Research Building. Designed by Page and ZGF Architects to support collaborative, team-based learning and discovery, the six-story, 220,000-sf facility will provide two floors of instructional space, with research activities occupying four floors and a basement level.

The University of California, Irvine celebrated the official opening of its biosafety training lab in May of 2016. The BSL-3 facility has been designated as an approved instructional center by the National Institutes of Health’s National Biosafety & Biocontainment Training Program. The 1,600-sf lab was constructed in 2015 solely for the purpose of biosafety training and is the first of its kind in the United States.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has awarded Sundt Construction the design-bid-build contract for a new teaching and research facility in Prescott, Ariz. The 52,570-sf addition will provide classrooms, an auditorium, and labs for robotics testing, optics research, and high-speed computation and simulation. Featuring advanced building systems and exterior finishes, the project will support programs in applied science, aviation, business, engineering, space, computing, cybersecurity, and defense. Completion is expected in just 13 months.

Mercer University School of Medicine dedicated an $18 million expansion of its Savannah campus in April of 2016. Located adjacent to Memorial University Medical Center, the project included renovation of 26,500 sf in the Hoskins Center for Biomedical Research and construction of a 30,000-sf addition. The completed facility provides research labs, classrooms, offices, exam rooms for clinical training, simulation suites, tutorial rooms, and study spaces.