Researchers from Washington State University are getting a leg up from the National Institutes of Health to continue their work with artificial hip and knee replacements.
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Tags: Washington, WA, WSU, Nanoscience, Washington State University, 2015, Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Reearch, Engineering, Research Funding, NIH funding, Northwest Region, Pullman, NIH grants, Nanomaterials, BioResearch Product Faire™
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.
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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:
5-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.
Some of the faculty scientists who will be doing research in the new MOLES facility include:
- Patrick Stayton, a professor of bioengineering
- Suzie Pun, a bioengineering associate professor
- David Baker, a biochemistry professor
- Daniel Gamelin, a chemistry professor
- Hugh Hillhouse, a chemical engineering professor
- Christine Luscombe, an associate professor of materials science and engineering
(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:
- 10/23/2012 -- Washington State University BioResearch Product Faire event, Pullman
- 10/24/2012 -- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center BRPF event, Seattle
- 10/25/2012 -- University of Washington Front Line event, Seattle
For information on exhibiting at the University of Washington show in particular, and receiving a university research funding report, click here:
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
The big, shiny black solar panels you're used to seeing bolted onto south-facing rooftops may soon be obsolete, if researchers at UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute continue to advance solar nanoscience at their current lightspeed pace. In fact, you not only won't recognize the new technology, you won't even be able to see it -- because it will be virtually transparent. And instead of being mounted to the roof, these thin plastic flexible sheets will cover your windows and skylights, as well as smaller surfaces like the face of your smartphone or tablet. What if the sun's not shining brightly? No problem, because these polymer solar cells (PSCs) absorb mostly ultra-violet and near-infrared (NIR) light, rather than the visible light that more traditional solar technology relies upon.
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Tags: CA, University of California Los Angeles, Photonics, Solar Energy, nanotechnology, California, 2012, Los Angeles, Biochemistry, Engineering, UCLA, scientists solutions, Biotechnology Vendor Showcase, Photonic Devices, scientist solutions
Oracle Corporation is a Northern California computer technology giant with its world headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area's Silicon Valley. From its wildly popular OpenWorld tech conference event held annually in San Francisco to its America's Cup sailboat that can be seen tacking across the Bay to and from the Golden Gate Yacht Club on a nice day, Oracle maintains a strong presence in the Bay Area, even beyond its extensive Redwood City campus. But that doesn't mean the company's Chairman of the Board (and former CFO) Jeff Henley lacks the vision to see that one of California's great strengths as far as technology goes is in the University of California System, and that strength comes from leveraging its power and resources across the state. That's why Henley and his wife have just committed $50M to fund a new science building, labs and faculty salaries on the UC Santa Barbara campus, where Henley got his undergraduate education.
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Tags: California, University of California Santa Barbara, Engineering, Funding, Conference, Event, Energy, charitable giving
The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor has been producing top scientists for a long time. One notable alum, who went on to found the research science company SAIC, has recently donated $15 million to his alma mater, ensuring that Michigan will continue to train and support future generations of innovative engineers. In honor of this generous gift, the University will name its new engineering building on the North Campus after the donor and his wife, hence the Bob and Betty Beyster Building for Computer Science and Engineering. This isn't Robert Beyster's first gift to UM Ann Arbor either. In recent years, he has contributed toward research in biofuels, cloud computing and security, and gene therapeutics. He has also funded a class on employee ownership though the Center for Entrepreneurship. Michigan has one of the top engineering programs in the country.
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Tags: University of Michigan, Midwest, New research facilities, 2012, Ann Arbor, Engineering, BioResearch Product Faire Event, Funding, MI, UMich, charitable giving