Photo Gallery

Bioscience & Technology Center and the new School of Pharmacy building

This is a photo gallery of the new Bioscience and Technology Business Center and the School of Pharmacy building on West Campus.

As of this summer, West Campus is home to two new buildings. These two buildings are in the midst of the University’s pharmaceutical and life science research area. The buildings provide new opportunities for KU faculty and students along with a better way of helping put Lawrence on the map for scientists and businesses around the country.

Bioscience and Technology Business Center

The Bioscience and Technology Business Center, 2029 Becker Dr., opened about a month ago and is now fully functioning. Access to this center allows KU faculty to have a place to help them develop their own companies. The center will function as an incubator for new businesses that emerge from the University as well as businesses that are recruited here.

“This is a new thing for KU, this is a new thing for Lawrence, but I think it’s a really positive step in terms of economic development and partnership,” said Matt McClorey, director of the Lawrence Regional Technology Center.

The Lawrence Regional Technology Center is managing the building and the Lawrence-Douglas County Bioscience Authority owns the building, forging a three-way partnership between these businesses and the University.

Carey Novak, director of Business Relations and Development in the Office of Research and Graduate Studies, said that the BTBC would provide opportunities for faculty interested in developing their ideas into potential companies.

“That’s becoming a bigger thing with younger faculty, especially faculty in the sciences and the engineering areas,” Novak said.

Glen Marotz, associate dean of Engineering Research and Graduate Programs in the School of Engineering, agrees that the BTBC will benefit University faculty.

“When something shows promise, it’s not easy to find a space that you can use for developmental purposes,” Marotz said. “So the Bioscience Center will definitely help.”

The center is also looking to recruit emerging companies that are interested in Lawrence and interested in working with students.

“I think this will provide opportunities for students in terms of job opportunities with early-stage, promising businesses whether they are spun out from the University or recruited here,” McClorey said.

Construction on the 20,000-square-foot building began in October 2009. The University of Kansas, the City of Lawrence, Douglas County and the Lawrence-Douglas County Bioscience Authority all helped to fund the roughly $7.25 million project.

Both wet labs and dry labs are located in the building meaning a variety of research and development can take place.

“Companies could be doing pharmaceutical research, bioengineering, biofuels, biochemicals and related information technology companies,” Novak said. “It gives us that flexibility to go after a lot of different companies.”

The BTBC recently signed its first tenant, a software company called CritiTech. The company develops software applications for government bodies to help create and track legislative bills and assist with other governmental functions digitally. CritiTech will move into the BTBC Sept. 1.

SCHOOL OF PHARMACY

The School of Pharmacy, 2010 Becker Dr., moved its facility at the beginning of August as part of a major expansion within the school. Construction on the 110,000-square-foot building began in May 2009. The new building not only helps the School and the University, but also the shortage of pharmacists across the state.

Ken Audus, dean of the School of Pharmacy, said one of the main reasons for the $45 million expansion was because when the school was located in Malott Hall, there wasn’t much room for expansion.

“With the expanding class sizes, we needed more teaching space, which is a premium on this campus,” Audus said. “We think we’ve helped the main campus as well because we’ve freed up some classrooms.”

When the school was in Malott Hall, classrooms could only accommodate 105 students. The new building allows for many more students. The incoming class for this year has 150 students, Audus said, and the additional space also allows students from other majors to take pharmacy classes if they’re interested.

“Our students took priority, but now we can let other students who are interested in the pharmacy discipline take classes as well.”

Thomas Whitson, second-year pharmacy student from Olathe, is looking forward to the new lab space. Previously, labs were small and split between two floors.

“It’s like going from a closet to a banquet hall,” Whitson said. “It’s an amazing shift.“

Classrooms in the new building are bigger, but are more technologically savvy, too. Larger classrooms have projection screens and microphones to allow students to ask questions without yelling, said Val Stella, professor of pharmaceutical chemistry.

Better technology will also allow Stella’s lectures to be captured on video and beamed to various locations around the world. The school currently teaches an online master’s program that uses video capture. Next year, classes will be beamed to classes at KU Medical Center in Wichita to allow students at that campus to benefit, too. But that won’t be where the benefits stop.

“Wichita might as well be Bangalore, India or Shanghai, China,” Stella said. “It will really allow us to go global with our education.”

— Edited by David Cawthon