Science Market Update

New Molecular Science Research Building Opens State-of-the-Art Labs at UW

Posted by Jaimee Saliba on Fri, Sep 14, 2012

It takes a long time for a lab science building to go from planning and fundraising, through permitting and construction and on to occupancy. In the case of the University of Washington's Molecular Engineering and Sciences Building, which is celebrating its grand opening next week, that process took 5 years and had some unexpected perks. While there's been very little upside to the down economy since 2008, it has had the effect of lowering construction costs, which means that UW Seattle's newest science building is even bigger and better than they'd originally planned because they were able to get more for their $77M.

One of the things they got was some very thoughtfully designed labs. Though flexibility of design is important to assure future utility, research team leaders gave significant input into the design of their specific labs to make sure those labs were ideal for the type of research that would be carried out within their walls. Project architect Tim Williams, of Zimmer Gunsul Frasca, said in an interview:

“Scientists spend a lot of time in the lab. The UW faculty wanted to look at how we could make that a nicer place to be."

Here are some of the ways they made a nicer science lab building:

  • biomolecular sciences building5-story, 90,300sf structure
  • Each of the four above-ground floors is divided into a laboratory half and an office half
  • The basement is a 28,000sf low-vibration lab space
  • Houses more than 15 faculty, 3 research centers and 4 major instrumentation centers
  • Aluminum-plate shielding on the building guards against electromagnetic waves
  • Natural ventilation in office spaces provided by windows that open
  • Optimized ventilation in the lab spaces, replacing air 6 times per hour rather than 10
  • Innovative commons spaces
  • Green roof gardens

UW officials are proud of the new building, not just because it is state-of-the-art, but also because it's "state-of-the-science." Molecular engineering is a relatively new field, and the UW Molecular Engineering and Sciences Institute (MOLES, the building's primary occupant) sees its mission as exploring a new kind of engineering for the 21st Century: rather than build bridges over rivers (still a noble feat), the new molecular engineer may be building proteins that travel to specific parts of the body.  He or she may follow the latest developments in chemistry, biology, physics, nanotechnology and predictive modeling; and his or her research projects will often be interdisciplinary, with colleagues from diverse fields and perhaps different institutions.

Furthermore, if life scientists often pursue basic research to understand the building blocks of life, and engineers build things and occupy themselves with practical mechanics and physical principles, the fusion of the two should have tremendous translational potential. Such is the goal of MOLES and their new collaborative workspace. Per their website:

Research at the Institute for Molecular Engineering & Sciences will be evolvable and dynamic, focusing initially on the themes of CleanTech and BioTech.

molecular science research

Some of the faculty scientists who will be doing research in the new MOLES facility include:

(Dr. David Baker seems to come up in our blog series with regularity. For former blogs citing his work, read the following:)

Computational Biology Scientist at UW Develops New Protein Structure

Crowdsourcing Research Challenge by UW Scientists a Game Changer?

 

Biotechnology Calendar, Inc. will hold 3 professional tradeshow events focusing on Washington state's bioscience technology and the research partnerships between scientists and the science equipment industry next month on these dates:

For information on exhibiting at the University of Washington show in particular, and receiving a university research funding report, click here:

seattle research

Biotechnology Calendar, Inc. is a full service event marketing and planning company producing on-campus, life science research tradeshows nationwide for the past 20 years. We plan and promote each event to bring the best products and services to the best research campuses across the country.


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Tags: Bioscience research, CEEM, UW, Molecular Engineering, University of Washington, Northwest, WSU, New research facilities, 2012, Biochemistry, chemistry research, Engineering, Front Line event, Energy, Seattle, new construction, construction

Medical Research Building at UW-Madison In a Three-Part Construction

Posted by Katheryn Rein on Fri, Jul 13, 2012

Medical research building construction is underway at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with high hopes for top level research once the three stages of this project have all been completed. The goal for this project, which together will be called the Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research (WIMR), "is to create a new kind of, almost revolutionary, model for how we do medical research," said Dr. Robert Golden, dean of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.

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Tags: Medical Research, cancer research, 2012, WI, Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin Madison, UW Madison, BioResearch Product Faire Event, Madison, construction

UCD Eye Center Building Project Provides New Research Laboratory Space

Posted by Dylan Fitzwater on Thu, May 03, 2012

The rapid growth of the UC Davis Health System has spurred plans for a new eye center to accommodate the expanding needs of patients and the university.

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Tags: CA, University of California Davis, New research facilities, California, construction, University Funding

New Boulder Biotechnology Building and JILA X-Wing Research Labs Now Open on CU Campus

Posted by Jaimee Saliba on Mon, Apr 16, 2012

The Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology Building on the East Campus of the University of Colorado Boulder is already welcoming researchers to their new labs and offices, and on April 26 there will be an official dedication ceremony for the 330,000sf innovative life science facility. While the university is still waiting for state funding to construct a fifth wing for teaching space, the current building is scheduled to be fully occupied by June. As we reported in a widely-read earlier blog on this much-anticipated research complex, one of the key tenants will be the Biofrontiers Institute, formerly the CIMB. Joining them are the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and the Division of Biochemistry.

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Tags: Bioresearch, flow cytometry, Biofrontiers Institute, New research facilities, Southwest, University of Colorado Boulder, BioResearch Product Faire Event, biotech industry, Colorado, new construction, Boulder, UCO, BRPF, construction

$65M Integrative Science Building Construction Nearing Completion at University of Oregon

Posted by Jaimee Saliba on Mon, Apr 09, 2012

The University of Oregon is poised to celebrate completion of Phase II building construction on its Lokey Science Complex on the Eugene campus this fall with the opening of the $65M Lewis Integrative Science Building. The 100,000sf science building will have fully one-third of its space devoted to labs and will be home to strategic research clusters related to the human brain, molecular biology, nanotechnology, and solar energy. It will bring together researchers from across the spectrum of brain research from cognitive development to rehabilitation as well as molecular biologists studying cancer and stem cells and materials scientists working in green nanotechnology and solar energy. The Lewis Building is expected to earn LEED platinum certification, and it will be the most expensive science facility ever built at the University of Oregon. The fundraising effort is nearing completion and labs will be filling with new equipment and supplies soon in preparation for the fall move-in.

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Tags: Bioresearch, UOr, Northwest, New research facilities, University of Oregon, BioResearch Product Faire Event, OR, innovative solution, Eugene, new construction, construction

Cancer Research Funding Grant of $41M and Univ of Utah Bldg Expansion

Posted by BCI Staff on Tue, May 03, 2011


In 1995 Utah chemical industrialist Jon Huntsman donated $151M—$100M directly from family funds—to the University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City to create a top-notch cancer center bearing his family's name: The Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI).  Further contributions over the years brought Huntsman support to $300M. Now the family has made another gift to the Center in the amount of $41M, which HCI says will be used to hire more researchers and acquire new treatment technology.

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Tags: Utah, university of utah, UUtah, Southwest, BioResearch Product Faire Event, Salt Lake City, construction, 2011

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