Sept. 27, 2021
Media Advisory: Groundbreaking Ceremony for Grand Challenges Research Building
- What: Groundbreaking ceremony for new Grand Challenges Research Building at the University of Arizona
- When: Tuesday, Sept. 28, 8 a.m.
- Where: Cherry Avenue between University Boulevard and Fourth Street
- RSVP: Please email media_requests@list.arizona.edu if you are planning to attend.
TUCSON, Ariz. — The University of Arizona will break ground on its new $99 million, seven-story Grand Challenges Research Building, or GCRB. The nearly 115,000-square-foot facility, located on Cherry Avenue between University Boulevard and Fourth Street, will be the future home of UArizona laboratories and flexible research space for interdisciplinary programs designed to address society's most pressing questions as they arise and evolve. The building also will house the university's $26 million Center for Quantum Networks. The GCRB is expected to be completed in February 2024.
Tuesday's groundbreaking event will include remarks from University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins, Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation Elizabeth "Betsy" Cantwell, Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost Leisl Folks, James C. Wyant College of Optical Sciences Dean Thomas Koch, Optical Sciences Professor Emeritus James C. Wyant and Saikat Guha, a professor in the College of Optical Sciences and lead investigator for the Center for Quantum Networks. Speakers will be available for interviews following the event.
The Grand Challenges Research Building will allow for additional space to grow research programs and partnerships for students and faculty, and ensure the future talent pipeline in applications that include biomedical instruments, imaging technologies, space exploration, fundamental laser physics, manufacturing, autonomous systems and the future of the internet.
The GCRB will be dedicated specifically to research programs related to the "Grand Challenges" pillar of the university's strategic plan. These grand challenges fall into areas such as space exploration, artificial intelligence, the environment and disease prevention.
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Media contact:
Nick Prevenas
University Communications
Office: 520-621-2194 | Cell: 520-490-0049
nprevenas@arizona.edu
The University of Arizona, a land-grant university with two independently accredited medical schools, is one of the nation's top 50 public universities, according to U.S. News & World Report. Established in 1885, the university is widely recognized as a student-centric university and has been designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education. The university ranked in the top 20 in 2019 in research expenditures among all public universities, according to the National Science Foundation, and is a leading Research 1 institution with $734 million in annual research expenditures. The university advances the frontiers of interdisciplinary scholarship and entrepreneurial partnerships as a member of the Association of American Universities, the 66 leading public and private research universities in the U.S. It benefits the state with an estimated economic impact of $4.1 billion annually. For the latest on the University of Arizona response to the novel coronavirus, visit the university's COVID-19 webpage.