Groundbreaking for Ohio State’s new science and engineering building to be held June 18

The Ohio State University will celebrate the groundbreaking of the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Chemistry (CBEC) building at 4 p.m. on Monday (6/18).

The new 225,000 square-foot-building will be located in the heart of the science and engineering corridor of campus in the Academic Core North. It will create laboratory space with the proper floor-to-floor height, structural dimensions and environmental stability to support intensive research. With a total project budget of $126 million, CBEC will not intended to simply replace existing laboratory facilities, but will substantially upgrade and expand them to enable a strong focus on interdisciplinary research in the areas of chemistry, biochemistry and chemical biomolecular engineering.

CBEC will house the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (moving to the state-of-the-art building from Koffolt Laboratories, built in 1960), and researchers from the Department of Chemistry (moving from Evans Lab, built in 1967).

The building will seek Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver certification, and it is replacing four buildings that combined had a deferred maintenance price tag of $22 million.
The new building is expected to be completed by the end of 2014.

WHAT: Groundbreaking for the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Chemistry building

WHO: President E. Gordon Gee; David Williams, dean of the College of Engineering; Joseph E. Steinmetz, executive dean and vice provost for the College of Arts and Sciences; as well as Ohio State faculty, staff, students and alumni.

WHEN: 4 p.m. on Monday (6/18)

WHERE: At the construction site (between 19th and Woodruff, at the southeast corner of the Physics Research Atrium space). Appropriate footwear is recommended.

For more information about CBEC, visit http://cbe.osu.edu/department/cbec.