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Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony Marks Opening of Rensselaer's Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies
National science policymakers, federal, state, and local elected officials, and business leaders joined Rensselaer trustees, administrators, faculty, staff, students, and friends at a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the official opening of the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies on Sept. 10.
"Welcome to our vision," said President Shirley Ann Jackson. "This center offers a new model for research. The research and teaching-the clasped hands of a true education-which will take place within these walls, will accelerate discovery; it will create new pathways to healing; it will enhance the quality of life for all."
"This is a truly historic day for Rensselaer, a day of celebration and accomplishment, as we witness the fulfillment of one of the highest priorities of The Rensselaer Plan — the opening of the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies," said Samuel Heffner Jr. '56, chairman of the Rensselaer Board of Trustees. "Five years ago at her [President Jackson's] inauguration, a visionary and inspirational leader challenged us to think beyond the boundaries and to invest in an area which Rensselaer was relatively unknown - biotechnology research and interdisciplinary education. This vision was a bold step forward into the future."
Rensselaer's new center ranks among the world's most advanced research facilities focused on the application of engineering and the physical and information sciences to the life sciences. The Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies is a 218,000-square-foot, $100 million facility (including $80 million for construction). With its high-tech laboratories and expansive atrium, it provides a platform for collaboration among many diverse academic and research disciplines to enhance discovery and encourage innovation.
"I'm not a scientist...but I know that what is going to happen in this building in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, electronics, and other disciplines is going to accrue to the benefit of this community, this state, this nation, and our world," said U.S. Representative Michael McNulty.
Research and office space will support approximately 400 faculty, staff, and students. A wired 150-seat auditorium, the Bruggeman Conference Center, and other meeting spaces will enhance opportunities for collaboration. Labs will include state-of-the art equipment, such as an 800-mHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer. Essential infrastructure, including laboratory equipment such as the NMR and facilities within the center, will be funded in part by a $22.5 million grant from the Gen*NY*sis program. This New York state biotechnology economic development program was championed by New York State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. Rensselaer also has been designated to receive $750,000 in federal funding to support the creation of a new Center for Quantitative and Computational Bioscience to be housed in the new facility.
"I am impressed to see the vision evolving here at Rensselaer," said National Institutes of Health Director Elias Zerhouni, M.D. "I could see from the spectacular rise in NIH funding at the same time that NIH's budget has doubled, that something must be happening here."
Additional speakers at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, lead by President Jackson, included: The Honorable Joseph Bruno, New York State Senate Majority Leader; The Honorable Bruce Alberts, Ph.D., president of the National Academy of Sciences; Howard Isermann '42, honorary Rensselaer trustee; and Robert Palazzo, Ph.D., acting director of the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies and chair of Rensselaer's Department of Biology. United States Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was scheduled to participate, but was unable to attend due to her husband's hospitalization.
"For 180 years, RPI has served as a model technological university in New York state and our nation," wrote Senator Clinton in a congratulatory letter marking the opening ceremonies. "The creation of the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies once again exemplifies RPI's groundbreaking and cutting-edge approach to scientific discovery and technology."
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