Board of Regents Approves New Research, Teaching Building

The 220,000-Square-Foot Facility Will Provide Lab, Research Space Designed for Collaboration

The new four-story building will be immediately south of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Laboratory. The buildings will be connected to give researchers easy access for collaboration.

The Board of Regents of the University of Texas System recently approved design plans for a new UT Dallas building to house research and teaching in the areas of neuroscience and bioengineering.

The 220,000-square-foot Bioengineering and Sciences Building will provide research space for 70 faculty members and their staff members and graduate students, along with teaching laboratories for undergraduate majors in these fields. In addition to providing the home for UT Dallas programs in bioengineering and neuroscience, the facility will provide additional research space for related programs in biology, physics, chemistry and electrical and mechanical engineering.

“Members of our Board of Regents understand the critical importance of this building in sustaining our growth into a nationally prominent research university,” said President David E. Daniel. “World-class facilities, such as this building and our Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Lab (NSERL), are essential to recruiting and retaining the renowned faculty who will push the frontiers of knowledge forward while educating the research leaders of tomorrow. I thank the regents for their faith in our plan.”

The 220,000-square-foot facility will provide research space and teaching laboratories for bioscience and bioengineering, as well as room for related programs in biology, physics, chemistry and electrical and mechanical engineering.

Dr. Hobson Wildenthal, UT Dallas executive vice president and provost, said, “All of these programs that will have their home in this new building, whether focusing on fundamental or clinically applicable research, have the ultimate target of improving human health.

“Research in this general area is intrinsically interdisciplinary, and the building is designed to facilitate and encourage collaborations between the entire community of faculty and students. In combination, these research and education programs are generating enormous enthusiasm from students and major support from governmental, philanthropic and business organizations,” Wildenthal said. “The new building constitutes a huge step forward in our capability to support faculty and students as they pursue their dreams of contributing to society.”

The new $108 million, four-story building will be located immediately south of the NSERL on the east side of Rutford Avenue, and has been designed with the aim of complementing the architecture of NSERL, said Calvin Jamison, vice president for administration.

The two buildings will be connected on multiple levels to provide researchers housed in both buildings with easy access to unique facilities and to encourage collaborations on an even broader scale. Rick Dempsey, associate vice president for facilities management, further noted that the building is designed for maximum space efficiency and flexibility for usage over time as research needs evolve.

Construction is expected to begin in November and finish in the fall of 2015.