The construction of the new Bio Engineering Facility on the Michigan State University campus came a step closer to reality today as the MSU Board of Trustees gave its approval to the project.
At its meeting, the board authorized the university administration to proceed with the project which, when completed, will stand four stories tall and contain about 130,000 square feet of laboratory and office space.
The goal of the project is to bring together research teams from the colleges of Engineering, Human Medicine and Natural Science to promote the development of bio-engineering and engineering health sciences.
“By housing faculty from several colleges in this facility – with complementary research talent – we will be able to make great strides in medical technology through daily collaboration,” said Leo Kempel, acting dean of the College of Engineering. “This not only benefits the research enterprise, but it also will provide new learning opportunities for our students.”
The building will facilitate any number of collaborative projects. For example, researchers from various disciplines – including chemical engineering, electrical engineering, physiology and radiology – could come together to work in new areas of research such as tissue engineering, Kempel added.
The facility will be located between the Life Science and Clinical Center buildings on the south side of the MSU campus. The building will be physically connected to the existing Clinical Center C-Wing and Life Sciences B-Wing, with proximity to the Radiology Building.
Total cost of the project is expected to be about $60.8 million. Approximately half of that amount would be covered by $30 million from the state of Michigan. Approval from the state is anticipated by the end of May.