Research and Development

Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., has been awarded $7.5 million over five years from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish the Center for Probing the Nanoscale (CPN). The CPN is one of six new NSF-funded centers for the development of science and engineering at the scale of the nanometer. The CPN, a partnership between researchers at Stanford, IBM, and other companies, will occupy offices and a teaching laboratory in Stanford's Geballe Laboratory for Advanced Materials.

Leading research institution SRI International is planning to transform its 1.3 million-sf Menlo Park, Calif., campus with a project estimated to cost "several hundred million dollars." The rebuilding initiative will include renovation of seventy percent of SRI's research facilities in the next ten years, with construction expected to begin in 2006.

The Naval Surface Warfare Center has awarded the Haskell Company a $10-million contract to design and build the Littoral Warfare Research Facility in Panama City, Fla. The three-story, 38,000-sf facility will house, labs, classrooms, and offices supporting robotic technology and research and will be used to test, demonstrate, and integrate unmanned systems operations. Ground was broken on the facility in early fall of 2004. Completion is scheduled for early 2006.

The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory is leasing 81,500-sf of a 150,000-sf building that will be constructed in Cambridge. Housing office and R&D space, the facility will consolidate three Cambridge locations into a new state-of-the-art facility located in the 40-acre wooded Cambridge Discovery Park, which is owned by the Bulfinch Cos. Inc. Occupancy is slated for the fourth quarter of 2005.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has completed the new Advanced Measurement Laboratory (AML ) in Gaithersburg , Md. The $235-million facility accommodates research in nanotechnology, semiconductors, biotechnology, advanced materials, quantum computing, and advanced manufacturing. Completed in December 2003 and officially opened in June 2004, the AML features five separate wings with stringent environmental controls on particulate matter, temperature, humidity, vibration and electromagnetic interferences. The design includes:

Electron microscope maker FEI Corp. has opened its enhanced Eindhoven , Netherlands, campus, featuring the “NanoPort," a state-of-the-art product and applications center. Providing space for collaborative R&D projects, such as the European Union’s Interaction Proteome Project, the NanoPort accommodates scientists working in the disciplines of biotechnology, materials science, structural biology, proteomics, pathology, and semiconductors and data storage. The facility houses a range of transmission and scanning electron microscopes, as well as ion beam and dual-beam systems.

St. Louis-based Spartech Corp. opened its new 30,000-sf product development center in Warsaw , Ind., in June 2004. The $8-million facility will accommodate the development of alloy plastics, thermoplastics, and advanced polymer products.

Sandia/California National Laboratories dedicated the new Distributed Information Systems Laboratory in Livermore, Calif., on June 10, 2004. The 70,000-sf facility will enable high-speed information transfer between labs, particularly those with a focus on nuclear weapons research. The $37.9-laboratory will accommodate 130 researchers and include unclassified space where twenty to thirty visiting researchers can work with Sandia staff members. Sandia operates sites in both Livermore and Albuquerque.

The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston has been designated by NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) as the site of the $167-million Galveston National Laboratory. The seven-story facility will accommodate infectious disease research and could generate as much as $1.1 billion in regional economic impact over the next twenty years.

The Medical College of Georgia (MCG) has completed construction of the Interdisciplinary Research Building (IRB) Phase II, a 94,000-sf expansion project. Designed by Lord, Aeck & Sargent of Atlanta, the $27.3-million, five-story project includes a mechanical penthouse and a life sciences incubator for developing biotech business from scientific discoveries. The facility provides research laboratory and office space for the MCG Department of Physiology, the Center for Biology and Genomic Medicine, and the Office of Technology Transfer and Economic Development.

The USDA is constructing a BSL-3AG replacement facility in Ames, Iowa. Designed to foster scientific collaboration in animal health and food safety among three separate federal government agencies, the facility is structured for concurrent research on multiple animal disease pathogens. Designed by Merrick & Company of Aurora, Colo., the $60-million facility and $20-million infrastructure upgrade will include 159,000 sf of total space, 52,000-sf of it in high containment areas.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based Agilent Technologies has awarded a facilities management contract for all of its properties to Glendale-based Johnson Controls. The five-year contract includes mechanical, electrical, plumbing, operations and maintenance, project management, building fabric maintenance and general services for Agilent’s 17 million sf of owned and leased properties in thirty countries. Agilent manufactures scientific and analysis equipment.

Oregon State University is planning a technology research park on 52 acres near its Corvalis, Ore., campus. The RFP process is expected to reach completion by year-end 2004, with the first building opening in July of 2006. Comprised of as many as three anchor buildings housing multiple companies, the project will also house laboratory and office space. Targeted industries include bioscience and health, mixed signal processing, and pharmaceuticals. The first multiclient building will be between 40,000 sf and 85,000 sf.

Scripps/University Biotech Consortium is planning to build a Florida Universities and Scripps East Research Consortium Center adjacent to its planned 364,000-sf facility in Palm Beach County. Sited on 150 acres, the first phase of the $10 million, 15,000-gsf project includes design and construction of a campus gateway, a central utility plant, a large reception area, office suites, and meeting rooms.

M+W Zander U.S. Operations is completing the $3.5-million office and cleanroom construction training center in 60,000 sf of Building 44 at the Watervliet Arsenal in Watervliet, N.Y. A joint venture of Albany NanoTech, Arsenal Business and Technology Partnership, and M+W Zander, the center will train members of the Pipe Fitters Union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and sheet metal workers to construct and maintain cleanroom facilities and install precision machinery.