Provost's Column

Research lab renovations to spark new innovation

At IU Bloomington, we are building on our historic strengths and emerging opportunities through transformative research to address the most complex societal challenges at local, national, and global levels. In this pursuit, we have a responsibility to provide our researchers and their teams with leading facilities that enable this essential work to flourish.

With $45 million approved by the Board of Trustees for construction and renovations across eight buildings at IUB, we will soon embark on an ambitious 18-month effort to optimize research spaces available to our campus via at least 34 updated and new labs across central and north campus. The $45 million project will be funded by revenue bonds which will be repaid through funds provided by IU Research.

We are fortunate to have numerous and diverse research spaces at IUB, including in the core of campus, that can be activated more fully in this effort. Many of the targeted spaces for upcoming renovations are currently underutilized or in significant need of repair and improvement — some dating back several decades. Many of the planned renovations will also be aligned with ongoing Faculty 100 hiring in priority areas.

As part of this effort, planning teams have identified five strategic research “neighborhoods” for IUB, which congregate researchers with high potential for collaboration and shared resources.

Central Neighborhood

Research activity includes chemical and synthetic biology, applied quantum information science, biomedical sciences and engineering.

Northwest Neighborhood

Research activity includes human intelligence, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, biohealth informatics.

North Quad Neighborhood

Research activity includes neuroscience of aging and central nervous system diseases, precision approaches to toxicology, environmental health.

Plans include renovations and consolidations in the North Neighborhood to expand research capacity and efficiency.

MESH Neighborhood

Research activity includes nanofabrication, nuclear physics/chemistry, and materials research.

Plans include building out additional infrastructure to enable efficient and economical future development of a new nanofabrication facility and dry labs for microelectronics.

Applied Research Center Neighborhood

Research activity includes cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and microelectronics.

Designs include renovations to enable high-priority and industry-driven research.

This innovative neighborhood approach for research space, created in collaboration with department chairs and other research leaders, is meant to facilitate closer collaborations across schools, existing and emerging disciplines, and research-active faculty.

The implementation of this plan will be overseen by a special implementation committee that will report jointly to the Provost, Vice President for Research and the Vice President for Capital Planning and Facilities. Members include:

Scott Michaels (co-chair), Assistant Vice President for Centers and Core Facilities, IU Research; Professor of Biology

Jim Stewart (co-chair), Associate Vice President, Capital Planning and Facilities

Caroline Chick Jarrold, Associate Dean for Natural and Mathematical Sciences and Research; Herman B Wells Professor of Chemistry

Joseph Kielar, Director of Facilities and Science Infrastructure, College of Arts and Sciences

Liz Osika, Director of Enterprise Strategic Initiatives

Brea Perry, Associate Vice President and Vice Provost for Research; Allen D. and Polly S. Grimshaw Professor of Sociology

Richard Thompson, Senior Associate University Architect for Research

A future, second phase of renovations is planned to follow, utilizing state appropriations and federal grants and partnerships to support longer-term renovations including Psychology and completion of the nanofabrication facility.

Special thanks to Vice Provost for Research Brea Perry, Assistant Vice President Scott Michaels, the planning and implementation teams, and to the many individuals across campus who offered consultation during the planning process.

While I know there will be some necessary changes and inconveniences in these areas to make the renovations possible, the implementation team is working hard to minimize disruptions to ongoing research while avoiding delays in providing labs to incoming faculty. In addition, the implementation committee will help develop a broader plan for sequencing, timing, and communicating about renovations and relocations.

I am thrilled for this much-needed opportunity to improve the quality and capacity of our research infrastructure, and I look forward to the many benefits and impacts our work will continue to have in the years to come.