In honor of the ribbon-cutting for the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, RPI will be hosting a two day Biotechnology symposium that begins tomorrow. All classes are cancelled this Friday so that members of the RPI community can attend the President’s colloquy and Ribbon-Cutting. The events will continue into Saturday with a rememberance of the September 11 attacks, tours of the building, a kick-off event for the Capital Campaign, and a presentation of The Fly Bottle by David Egan.
The symposium, colloquy, and ribbon cutting are open to the public and are also going to be webcasted. The meals will require invitations. As a result, the faculty and staff section of the Russell Sage Dining Hall will be closed on Thursday and Friday.
The Thursday event, entitled “Biological Discoveries That Will Change the World,” will be held in the auditorium of the Biotech Center and begins at 8:30 am. The introduction and plenary session will be followed by moderated discussions entitled “Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine,” which starts at 11:10 am; “Biocatalysis,” which begins at 1:30 pm; and “Systems Biology,” which starts at 3:35 pm.
After the topical discussions and closing remarks, there will be a poster session and reception from 4:40 pm until 6 pm entitled “Biotechnology at Rensselaer” in the building’s atrium that will showcase the work of undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty in many different RPI departments.
The 218,000 square foot Biotechnology Center will include researchers from many RPI departments—ranging from biology and biomedical engineering to mathematical sciences. According to Vice President for Institute Advancement David Haviland, there are no plans to make a new biotechnology department; the faculty are intended to be interdisciplinary.
On Friday, the events will begin with a presidential colloquy in the auditorium of Academy Hall featuring President Jackson and leaders of both companies and public agencies. The Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony will follow in the auditorium of the biotech center and will include those affiliated with RPI as well public servants including Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and New York Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno.
Following the Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony, the building will be opened for public tours. There will also be an invite-only black tie dinner on Friday night at which the fundraising goal of the Capital Campaign will be announced.
On Saturday, public tours will also be running from 10 am until 3 pm. Simultaneously, the Armory will host the “Renaissance at Rensselaer: Campaign Community Event” during which the details of the campaign will be announced to the public.
According to Haviland, the event will feature exhibits that “demonstrate some of the priorities of the campaign.” Haviland also said that one of the goals of capital campaigns is to reach a “new plateau of fundraising,” since the higher levels of support during the campaign are expected to become permanent.
Bob Palazzo, acting director of the Biotech Center and chair of the Department of Biology, said that he believes the opening will “improve opportunity for students across the board.”
He noted, “RPI has had a long history of innovation in technology and engineering,” and said that this center gives RPI the chance to expand and “combine basic areas of sciences with technology.” He said the center is “a huge commitment [from RPI] to life sciences and biotechnology.”
Palazzo does not expect that regularly scheduled classes will be located in the new center as the, “building [was] designed as a research building.” He said that there are labs, offices, conference rooms, and student lounges for the graduates and undergraduates who will be working the building’s labs and offices. He did note that some small graduate classes may be able to meet in some of the conference rooms.
Palazzo said that next week the control of the building will be turned back over to the contractor so that “final fit outs” and changes can be made to individual rooms and labs, noting that most of the building construction is fully completed. He said that faculty are expected to be able to begin moving in mid to late October.
