More than 400 people – including Gov. Deval Patrick, UMass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan, students, faculty and staff, industry leaders and public officials – today opened the $80 million Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center (ETIC) at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, the first new academic building constructed on campus in more than three decades.
The 84,000-square-foot building will be home to cutting-edge research in nanotechnology, molecular biology, plastics engineering and optics, advancing fields such as life sciences, energy, national security and environmental protection.
Outfitted with specialized, high-powered laboratories and equipment, a plastics processing high bay and high-tech cleanrooms, the four-story ETIC will prepare students for jobs in emerging sectors, serve as the site of corporate- and government-sponsored research and foster industry partnerships in the global marketplace. The center – capable of supporting multiple research areas under one roof – is staffed by skilled technicians.
"Today, with the opening of the Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center, we step into the future, carrying forward UMass Lowell’s rich history as a pioneer and leader in advanced technology. Students, faculty researchers and private-sector partners who work here will be planting the seeds of the next industrial revolution, fueling the state’s innovation economy in ways we can only yet imagine," said Meehan. "We are grateful for the support Gov. Patrick, federal, state and local officials, industry leaders and UMass Lowell alumni whose vision has made this day and this beautiful new building a reality."
"Providing access to quality, affordable higher education is about giving all of our students the opportunity to succeed," said Patrick. "Education is Massachusetts’ calling card around the world and central to our competitiveness in the global economy. We invest in education, and in projects like this one, because we believe that it is the single most important investment government can make in our collective future."
The ETIC – which supported hundreds of jobs during its construction and will create hundreds more in the private sector into the future – was funded through $35 million from the Massachusetts Economic Investment Act of 2006, $5 million from the federal government, $25 million bonded through the UMass Building Authority, a $10 million grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, and industry and individual donors, including UMass Lowell alumni.
The $10 million grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center helped to fund equipment for the center’s cleanroom facilities and supports the build out of the ETIC’s third floor for nanomedicine research.
Located at the intersection of University Avenue and VFW Highway in Lowell, the ETIC is the gateway to the university’s North Campus and the first completed project in the UMass Lowell building boom that includes the new Health and Social Sciences Building on South Campus, the University Suites residence hall on East Campus, University Crossing student center, and two parking garages.
The environmentally sustainable building is seeking a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council. The building’s architect is HDR Inc. of Omaha, Neb.; the general contractor is Turner Construction Co. of New York, N.Y.
