Science complex will create ‘unprecedented' opportunities for collaboration
BY LORI BONA HUNT
U of G officially opened Phase 1 of its world-class science complex Dec. 1. The facility includes state-of-the-art teaching and research laboratories, rooftop greenhouses and an unparalleled centre for advanced analysis and diagnostic work.
“This is truly a monumental occasion for the University of Guelph,” said president Alastair Summerlee at an event to mark the opening. “The science complex will bring together leading innovators of today and of the future. It will encourage exploration and the sharing of new ideas and provide learning environments that allow students to work side by side with renowned scientists. This will create unprecedented opportunities for collaboration and integration.”
The $66-million first phase of the science complex was funded in part by grants from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Ontario Innovation Trust and the Ontario government's SuperBuild program.
“Today's opening of the Guelph science complex is a powerful example of what can be achieved through partnerships,” said CFI president and CEO Eliot Phillipson. “This facility represents what the CFI is all about: providing the tools to institutions and researchers so they can do the leading-edge research that will benefit all Canadians.”
The science complex was designed by the renowned architectural firm of Robbie/Young+Wright Architects Inc. and is being built in two phases. Phase 1 is a 165,000- square-foot building that includes open-concept research laboratories and 26 undergraduate teaching labs designed to promote both independent and group learning.
There are also some 6,000 square feet of botany greenhouses and specialty growth chambers located on the top floor. They were designed to allow for the cultivation of plants requiring containment, such as transgenics and those used in the study of pathogens, as well as traditional plant materials.
Phase 2 will include additional research, teaching and ancillary space and a student common area, and is scheduled to be completed in 2007. In all, the $144-million science complex will add 375,000 square feet of space and centralize the physical and biological sciences on campus.
“The science complex is a tremendously exciting project,” said CBS dean Michael Emes, adding that it was a key factor in his decision to come to U of G in 2002. “It has the potential to take Guelph's science forward in an integrated and interdisciplinary manner that positions the University at the cutting edge.”
A unique feature of the science complex will be the Advanced Analysis Centre. It will house six scientific instrumentation facilities: a molecular supercentre; advanced imaging/microscopy; a mass spectrometer for proteomics; nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy; chromatography and separation; and an OpenView software library.
CPES dean Peter Tremaine said the centre “will provide researchers with the means to make scientific advances in areas critical to human health, including the diagnosis and prevention of disease, development of pharmaceuticals and identification of pathogens and toxins in the environment.”
