UAF biology students and professors are keeping their fingers crossed for a new $94 million high tech biosciences facility funded by the state.

The Board of Regents approved the university's fiscal year 2008 capital budget request Wednesday at a meeting in Anchorage. UAF has placed the facility at the top of its wish list.

"The University of Alaska is focusing on biosciences and life science because it allows us to pursue research that is important to Alaskans," said Kathleen Schedler, UAF associate vice chancellor for facilities.

The new 110,000 square foot building will be located at the intersection of Sheenjek and Koyukuk Drive across the street from the biological and diagnostics facility, BIRD. It will provide required space for UAF's expanding biology programs.

The proposed facility will combine biology teaching and research labs in one building. Equipped with new technology, the building will have the ability to accommodate future advancements in the field of modern biology.

The new biosciences facility will unite a geographically divided biology department whose classes are spread across campus with lectures in Irving, research in Arctic Health and labs in Bunnell, increasing student involvement in research at every level.

"The proposed building was designed as a teaching facility to engage students in research," said UAF spokeswoman Carla Browning,

This new building will not only enlarge the bioscience lab space on campus but it will centralize biology classes, labs and research in one area enhancing productivity and improving department communication efficiency.

Many students and professors are looking forward to the new facilities.

"It is important that there is space for classrooms and research in the same building, so both students and researchers can benefit from state of the art facilities and equipment," said senior Niki Greer, a biology major and student research assistant in the wildlife toxicology lab.

Biology is the fastest growing department at UAF, and has been growing over the past eight years at a rate of 7-9 percent. In addition to majors, biology courses draw more than 1,500 students each semester.

"The only thing that is limiting our [biology] programs in Fairbanks right now is space," Schedler said.

Since 2002, UAF has received nearly $50 million dollars in funding for research in the biological sciences and arctic health. However, UAF's current teaching labs were built prior to 1960 and are limited in their ability to support new technology and equipment.

Chancellor Steve Jones, a strong supporter of the new facility, said, "If we are to realize our objective of being a premier research university, we have to have this resource."

"The proposed bioscience facility will allow us to achieve three important things," he said. "It will promote research at UAF, allowing the university to grow as a research center, it will improve the education of our students by providing state of the art teaching facilities and it will enable the university to continue to be a tremendous engine for economic development."

University research is a large industry in Alaska employing over 2,000 people statewide, 90 percent of whom are based in Fairbanks. And that number is growing. In response to student interest, several new life science faculty members have been hired to meet the needs of the department, placing added stress on the limited space currently available.

The biosciences building would increase available space for biology research and teaching significantly, opening up offices and labs throughout campus.

"[This building] will have a positive impact on research across campus," Jones said.

Current floor plans include a 90 seat lecture hall, a 20 seat classroom with computer capabilities, and nine class labs with the capacity for 16-32 students. Each of the three floors will house a 4,000 square foot open research lab with accompanying support labs containing chemical hoods, storage rooms and equipment. Five additional small research labs will be housed on the basement level.

An estimated 18 principal investigators will inhabit the facility with their post doctorate, graduate, and undergraduate research teams. At full capacity, the facility is expected to hold up to 150 researchers.

Still in the conceptual design phase, Schedler is working with the planning and use committee to complete basic programming, estimate size requirements and define teaching and research space. Bezek, Durst and Seiser, an Anchorage-based architectural firm, developed the preliminary building design.

The capital budget, including a request for the biosciences facility, will be presented to the Legislature in January. University officials are optimistic about the outcome. UAF has not received funding from the state for new construction in four years.

If everything goes as planned, funding for the project could be available as early as July 2007, with surveying and site work following this summer. A completed facility is expected in fall 2012.