TAMU Plant Pathology and Microbiology Building Opens

COLLEGE STATION, TX – An initiative begun during the 2012-2013 academic year led Texas A&M University’s (TAMU) College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to declare five grand challenges of agriculture. Three of those—“Feeding Our World,” “Improving Our Health,” and “Protecting Our Environment”—were specifically called out by Sandy Pierson, professor and head of the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Plant Pathology and Microbiology Building two years ago. Now, with the building’s official grand opening in late October, the department can enhance its collaborative efforts with the Institute for Plant Genomics and Biotechnology (IPGB) and other College of Agriculture and Life Sciences departments, including Entomology, Horticulture, Soil and Crop Sciences, Biochemistry and Biophysics, Ecosystem Sciences and Management, and Wildlife and Fishery Sciences.

Texas A&M Plant Pathology 200

The new building provides generic, flexible labs with the capabilities necessary to support research as it evolves. Its 84,000 square feet includes two plant pathology instructional labs, one bio-environmental instructional lab, teaching support spaces, 20 general research spaces with associated support areas, an integral greenhouse, two multipurpose seminar rooms, one multipurpose flat-floor auditorium, and administrative offices. Its placement adjacent to the Horticulture/Forest Science Building, and near other related research departments and facilities, strengthens and enhances opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration among faculty and students.

The building, which will serve as the new home of the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology as well as the Bioenvironmental Sciences (BESC) program, was planned and designed by Flad Architects in collaboration with architect of record Randall Scott Architects.

Featured

  • URI Cuts Underwater Ribbon on New Ocean Robotics Laboratory

    The University of Rhode Island recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Ocean Robotics Laboratory at its Narragansett Bay Campus, according to a news release. Two students used a remotely operated vehicle to cut an underwater ribbon in a 30-by-20-foot test tank.

  • Fayetteville State University Opens New College of Education Building

    Fayetteville State University (FSU) in Fayetteville, N.C., recently celebrated the opening of a new $69.3-million College of Education building, according to a university news release.

  • Auburn University Debuts $224M STEM + Agricultural Sciences Complex

    Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., recently opened its new $224-million STEM + Agricultural Sciences Complex, the largest research construction project in the university’s history, according to university news. The facility measures more than 265,000 square feet and brings six departments from the College of Agriculture and College of Sciences and Mathematics together under one roof.

  • Missouri Child Development Center Completes $2.3M Expansion

    The Urban Sprouts Child Development Center in St. Louis, Mo., recently announced the completion of a $2.3-million expansion and adaptive reuse project, according to a news release. The new space includes a retail café, outdoor learning space, and a support office building.