New Science and Technology Building Announced: Construction to Begin Spring 2013
“This state-of-the-art facility will bring together top researchers who will pool their expertise to develop pioneering solutions to society’s most critical problems,” said University of Illinois President Robert Easter as he joined with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, UIC Chancellor Paula Allen-Meares and Illinois Congressman Danny Davis to announce $64 million in state capital funding to support construction of the Advanced Chemical Technology Building (ACTB) at UIC.
The 120,000 square foot ACTB will be home to faculty and researchers from the Departments of Chemistry, Physics and Biology and will provide laboratories, offices, conference rooms and a 100-seat auditorium. Immunology, orthopedics, laser dynamics, nanoscience and environmental science are just some of the areas in which the biologists, physicist and chemists will collaborate and innovate.
“The best investment a state can make is in education,” Governor Quinn said. “Today’s announcement means more jobs, more innovation and a stronger University of Illinois at Chicago that will support our students as they prepare to enter the 21st-century workforce.”
The $104 million project is expected to create more than 200 construction jobs. Once completed, the ACTB should generate in 81 permanent campus jobs. Political science major Kenneth Thomas, voting student member of the University Board of Trustees, spoke about the importance of this initiative to the education and career prospects of current college students.
Construction of the ACTB will begin in spring 2013 and is expected to take 30 months. The Governor stated that the environmentally-friendly building will be designed to achieve silver-level LEED certification. It will be constructed on the soccer field at Roosevelt and Halsted and connected to Science and Engineering South.
Read the Governor’s press release.
Go to UIC News press release.