Transformative Research and Teaching Facilities

Science Initiative Building (SIB)

In March of 2022, the SIB was officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, with a fully opening of the building taking place in Fall 2022. The building includes open, collaborative laboratory spaces on levels 2, 3, and 4 that encourage interdisciplinary scientific discovery among PIs and their research teams. The building also includes a 200-seat Active Learning Classroom (ALC) on level 2 and the Student Collaborative Research, Outreach & Learning Laboratory (SCROLL) on level 4. Three shared resource research facilities (the Center for Advanced Scientific Instrumentation, or CASI, the Plant Growth & Phenotyping Facility, or PGPF, and the Model Organism Research Facility, or MORF) are also located within the building. These three core facilities serve researchers from across campus, the state, and the nation. Co-locating these resources allows the university to fund higher quality equipment purchases, increase the efficiency of maintenance and training for instrumentation, and create sustainable business models for instrument use.

 

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Center for Advanced Scientific Instrumentation (CASI)

CASI is a staffed facility that houses state-of-the-art instrumentation that enables analyses of a diverse range of specimens. Vibration and light-sensitive instrumentation are housed in spaces on the 1st floor of the Science Initiative Building (SIB). These rooms are designed to minimize vibrations and are electromagnetically shielded, ensuring high-quality imaging. Instruments that are less sensitive to vibration are housed in the CASI showcase and in other spaces throughout the building.

 

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Plant Growth & Phenotyping Facility (PGPF)

PGPF, located on the 5th floor of the SIB, includes 6,400 square feet of research greenhouses and an adjacent research penthouse housing two spacious walk-in chambers and a range of laboratory spaces to support the activities of all users. The research spaces are equipped with technology to provide tight environmental controls for plant growth and additional phenotyping applications.

 

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Model Organism Research Facility (MORF)

MORF, located on the ground floor of the SIB, provides modern care facilities for work with small mammals and amphibians.

 

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