>newground
In the past, scientific fields have occupied separate spaces and observed the boundaries between them. That is now changing. IU will be constructing a new science building on the Bloomington campus that will be especially designed for interdisciplinary research with modular, easily reconfigurable spaces that can be tailored to the needs of different projects. The Multidisciplinary Science Building, the MSB as it’s known, will fit itself in between Myers Hall and the Chemistry Building.
The State has allocated 30 of the necessary $50 million, leaving the IU Foundation and the College to raise the rest. No small task in light of the projected 2005 occupancy, but as Tom Herbert, executive director of development for the College says, “It’s ambitious, but with the help of many friends, we’ll get it done.”
The entire project is centered on the notion that scientific research is increasingly interdisciplinary. No longer a solitary effort, it requires teams of experts from various fields to make the most of intellectual and physical resources.
New Prospects for Science and the Economy
How important is this, really? According to Ted Widlanski, associate dean of the College, “The MSB will facilitate groundbreaking work in proteomics (the study of proteins), genomics (the study of genes), materials science, biophysics, and a variety of disciplines that will move Indiana University to the forefront of major research institutions.” The benefits are not limited solely to the university, either. Widlanski adds, “The growth of high technology training and capabilities associated with this endeavor should also have a positive effect on the local and state economies as the state moves toward fulfilling its potential as a leader in biotechnology.”
Although no one can predict precisely what types of discoveries might be made in the MSB, academic laboratory environments have given rise to many medical breakthroughs, among them:
The growth of biomedical science in the next ten to twenty years will be explosive. Just as the IU School of Medicine has undergone rapid growth with the Indiana Genomics Initiative (INGEN), the College of Arts and Sciences needs to enhance its research capabilities in order to stay competitive. The Multidisciplinary Science Building answers that call.
Herbert reflects the excitement that’s sweeping the College over the upcoming expansion: “The Multidisciplinary Science Building is a tremendous project due to the potential for breakthroughs in the biomedical and life sciences. Add to that some real gains for the regional economy in the biotech industries and you have an initiative that will affect generations of IU students and citizens of Indiana.”
Bloomington is the natural choice for this project because of IUB’s long history of excellence in the basic sciences. In short, the MSB is about boundaries and frontiers; redefining the former, and expanding the latter. Its aim is simple: to change how well life is lived.
>Geoff Pollock
Read more about the new building and the programs it will house at the Office of Communications and Marketing, the College of Arts and Sciences Magazine, and the Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics. Find out more about Proteomics.