Planning a project as large as BIOS inevitably brings up many questions. We hope to provide you with the answers below. If not, contact us.

UAF students and faculty require modern facilities equipped with the latest technology for teaching and research, but the current facilities don't meet their needs. A majority of the biology teaching and research labs at UAF were built prior to the 1960s. These labs are not equipped for research and teaching of modern cellular and molecular biology.

The research and teaching functions of these disciplines are currently housed in separate buildings, in some cases on opposite ends of campus. In the new Biosciences Facility, or BIOS, students will take classes across the hall from scientists actively involved in research projects. Laboratories will be visible to students throughout the facility, inspiring integrated learning and teaching opportunities.

UAF conducts nearly 90 percent of research for the entire university system. Grants for research in biology and arctic science have totaled nearly $50 million since FY02. In order to continue to grow the research enterprise in the life sciences, additional space is needed for both teaching and research labs.

The building will support existing biology programs and new biomedicine programs by accommodating the activities of scientists and graduate, undergraduate and postdoctoral researchers, including nearly 18 lead scientists responsible for securing new research dollars.

Basic research at UAF helps find solutions to public health problems such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, Parkinson's disease and sudden infant death syndrome.

UAF has the potential to expand its research programs, but only if the campus has the facilities to accommodate cutting-edge projects and scientists.

UAF has maximized its research capabilities, given the limited number of laboratories available on the main campus. Additional researchers and their expanding programs have been squeezed into spaces that are not sufficient for performing highly technical experiments. In order to maintain and increase research activities and research revenue, as well as attract and retain students in this area, UAF needs adequate space to accommodate both teaching and research.

The building will benefit many UAF students. All students are required to take science courses and many choose to take biology. Biology is also the largest undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. program at UAF. The facility will help retain quality faculty, which in turn attracts the best students.

The 110,000-square-foot integrated research and teaching facility will cost $113 million for the building design and construction The capital request for the facility is $66 million in FY09 and $47 million in FY 2010.

Construction costs for the Biosciences Facility are estimated at $650 to $675 per square foot. This is comparable to similar facilities recently constructed at similar institutions. Constructing lab space requires special ventilation, power, finishes and lab benches that significantly increase the cost per square foot.

The proposed facility has a mix of research and academic spaces similar in size and interior finishes to the Natural Sciences Facility, which was constructed in the early 1990s. In today's dollars, the Natural Sciences Facility would cost roughly $92 million.

The University of Alaska Board of Regents has approved the BIOS project as its highest new construction priority. The regents' FY09 capital budget request has been submitted to the governor for consideration. The next step is communicating the importance of BIOS to the state of Alaska and enlisting support from legislators for the project.

The facility will be located on the Fairbanks campus, specifically on West Ridge at the intersection of Sheenjek and Koyukuk drives, across the street from the new Biological and Research Diagnostics Facility and the Alaska Division of Health and Social Services Virology Building.

Contingent on funding, site development began in 2007 in preparation for construction. If the project is funded in FY09, the building would be occupied during the spring 2013 semester.

The BIOS facility will provide research labs for 18 lead scientists and an additional 170 researchers. Labs will also have associated support space for specialized equipment, freezers, fume hoods and storage for seasonal gear.

On the teaching side, rooms that can accommodate between 16 and 32 students will be constructed to house all of UAF's academic biology labs. The labs will be adjacent to preparation rooms that can serve two rooms at once. By using moveable benches, the rooms can be configured to present any number of biological subject matter from introductory biology to cellular and molecular biology. More than 1,000 students taking biology classes will have lab sessions in this facility. One large classroom and a computer room will be constructed to serve the majority of the biology and wildlife lectures.

Office space, gathering areas and other ancillary spaces will provide students more interaction with the researchers.

This facility was planned as part of a larger biological research and computational facility that would also address aging animal care facilities and space needs of the state virology lab. The most immediate space needs were addressed by a series of smaller projects:

• West Ridge Research Building-Built in 2004 and funded at 80 percent by research activity and 20 percent by a general obligation bond.
• Biological Research and Diagnostics Facility-completed December 2006. Accommodates animal care needs and research in infectious diseases.
• State Virology Lab-Expected groundbreaking in 2007. This is a joint effort between the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Division of Public Health and UAF.
• Biosciences Facility-Proposed construction from 2009-2013. Completes the much-needed teaching component, to the benefit of students in the life sciences, by providing adequate teaching and research space.

The Natural Sciences Facility was built more than 14 years ago. It provided modern facilities for chemistry, geology and physics, but it does not address life sciences space, including labs, which were built prior to 1960.

Other academic and research units will use those areas once space analysis and planning is complete. The good news is that many research and academic programs at UAF are growing, but more space is needed to accommodate that growth.

UAF will continue to work toward addressing renovation and renewal needs. BIOS will help over the long term by providing an opportunity for renovating space vacated by moves to BIOS. The new facility will provide appropriate lab space and also alleviate congestion and overcrowding.

There are more than 500 biology majors at the Fairbanks campus and hundreds more who take biology classes each year. These students shouldn't have to move to Anchorage to take biology courses. In addition, the environment in the Interior Alaska is much different than in Anchorage, thus the research work done by students and faculty is often very different.