Work is scheduled to begin later this summer on the Michigan State University Bio Engineering Facility.

Groundbreaking ceremonies were held June 19 for the building, which will serve as a hub for interdisciplinary research across several boundaries. It will bring together researchers from various disciplines.

The primary tenants will be faculty from MSU’s colleges of Engineering, Human Medicine and Natural Science.

“This building, with its emphasis on bringing together engineers and basic science researchers with medical researchers, will provide us with remarkable opportunities for solving some of humanity’s biggest challenges,” said Stephen Hsu, MSU vice president of research and graduate studies. “It also will help us attract more competitive, nationally funded projects and recruit the best minds to work with us – both faculty and graduate students.”

An artist's rendering of the proposed MSU Bio Engineering Facility. Image courtesy of the MSU Office of Planning and Budgets

Hsu said the 130,000-square-foot building represents MSU’s commitment to research in the biomedical sciences and its impact on human health in areas such as nanotechnology, robotics, tissue engineering and imaging.

Laboratories in the building will have an open-floor design to enhance collaborative research. The modular construction of the labs will provide flexibility as the nature of research evolves over the years.

The facility will be located between the Life Sciences and Clinical Center buildings on the south side of the MSU campus. The building will be physically connected to the existing Clinical Center C-Wing and Life Sciences B-Wing with proximity to the Radiology Building.

The building’s design will include energy-conservation methods that will create significant energy savings and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Total cost of the project is expected to be about $60.8 million. About half of that amount will be covered by $30 million from the state of Michigan.

The facility is scheduled to be completed by August 2015, with occupancy slated for the fall of 2015.