Negotiations to hire an architect for the future home of the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources can proceed following approval today (Friday) by the UW Board of Trustees.
The board authorized UW to proceed with negotiations with GSG Architecture of Casper, in association with HOK Inc. of St. Louis, to be the architect/engineer for the planned Energy Resource Center (ERC). The firm was selected following a review of statements-of-qualifications of companies, of which four were interviewed. The architect will perform design and construction services for the facility, which will be built following completion of the Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center late next fall.
Malone Belton Abel of Sheridan in association with Smith Group, Phoenix, Ariz. was ranked second and Architectural Means, Cheyenne, in association with H+L Architecture, Denver, Colo., was ranked third.
The Energy Resource Center will house offices, meeting space, and laboratories for operations that are central to the School of Energy Resources, including research laboratories focused on rock and fluid physics, underground resource characterization, fossil fuels, computational modeling and carbon technologies.
Additionally, the center will support interdisciplinary research in an environment that is more commonly found in industrial organizations and the nation's top-tier national laboratories.
"The new facility will encourage day-to-day interaction among chemical engineers, geophysicists, mathematicians, economists, petroleum engineers and others, providing an unusually rich and practical educational experience for undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows," says Douglas H. Vinzant, UW vice president for administration.
Funded by a combination of corporate donations matched by state appropriations, the SER will continue to strengthen UW's link to disciplines critical to Wyoming's energy portfolio by tapping the university's extensive expertise in areas such as geologic resource characterization, oil and gas production, computer and electrical engineering, carbon-based technologies, mathematical modeling, natural resource economics, mine land reclamation, carbon sequestration, power-grid engineering, wind turbine design and other areas.
In other action, the trustees approved the building site and proposed design and construction process for a storage facility to be constructed at ACRES Student Farm site. Construction will be completed by students and volunteers supervised by professionals.
The project will be initially funded by ASUW through a $10,000 grant awarded from student fees. This grant is intended to construct the basic building with reclaimed building materials, and additional funds and grants will be sought for future installation of alternative energy to heat the existing greenhouse.
