The UTD Mercury

Media Credit: Vivian Rekhlis This stairway cuts through the middle of what looks more like a hotel lobby than its intended use as a lounge and study area. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Vivian Rekhlis Student cubicle areas, which are illuminated by natural light, are no more than 20 feet from faculty research offices. [Click to enlarge]

Upon approaching the new $85-million Natural Science and Engineering Research Laboratory (NSERL), you immediately realize there is something different about the building from others on campus.

Approximately 22,000 anodized, stainless-steel tiles cover the outside surfaces of the four-story building. The tiles shimmer blue, purple and green similar to fish scales, especially in bright sunlight.

But, Vice President for Research Bruce Gnade says architects linked the look of the building to others on campus by designing a sloped roof similar to that of the McDermott Library. In addition, outside surfaces of the building not covered by metal tiles are beige to match the color of other buildings on campus.

Upon entering the building, you see an eating area with high ceilings that houses vending machines. But this area will serve as a remote cafeteria since Aramark, the Comet Café's managing company, has promised to eventually create a website where the building's future occupants can order food to be delivered within 30 minutes.

Some faculty and students currently working in the building have expressed concern about the distance of the building from the rest of campus, Gnade said.

But he said, "In the big picture, this building is not all that far from the rest of campus."

Although the swipe of a keycard is required to enter research and laboratory areas and elevators within the building, Gnade said all UTD students are welcome to check out the building when it is fully operational.

Gnade said the move to the NSERL should be complete by summer. Then, visitors will be required to sign in with a security guard and wear a visitor badge.

"The main reason (the NSERL) is here is for students," Gnade said. "We just want to know when you're here. We just don't want people wandering in."

Gnade said safety and security precautions are necessary because of the potentially dangerous and fragile equipment and chemicals housed inside the building. He added research within the facility is not supposed to be hidden from the non-research members of the UTD community.

Just within the keycard-secure doors, you walk into an upscale work area with the 5,000 square-foot, Class 10,000 (a cleanness rating) clean room lab on the left and an open set of cubicles on the right.

In comparison, the air in Class 10,000 clean rooms is 98-99 percent cleaner than the air in a typical office building, according to the Coastwide Laboratories website, www.coastwidelabs.com.

On the outsides of each cubicle area, there is a row of three faculty offices, so students working at their desks have immediate access to their professors and research directors.

The clean room is lit with yellow light because research within may involve light-sensitive materials, but the cubicle side is illuminated by natural light through floor-to-ceiling glass walls. Also, the labs feature floor-to-ceiling glass walls.

Each of the four floors has the same lab/cubicle layout, so students and faculty are able to perform their research no more than a 20-second walk from their offices.

"Unless you know what floor you're on, it's kind of hard to tell where you are," Gnade said.

After passing through sections of the labs and cubicles, you enter a large stairwell and lounge area that resembles a ritzy hotel lobby. There are padded chairs with desk attachments along the walls, so students can gather in the area to work or relax.

Comfy-looking couches and chairs are spread throughout the lounge areas, so students and faculty can take a break from research or hold study sessions. In these areas, there are several long dry-erase boards for working out formulas, and large bulletin boards line the nearby walls to host flyer announcements.

These areas of the building overlook a lawn on the southwest side where Gnade said benches and tables might be added for outside lounging and study.

The second through fourth floors host labs equipped for chemistry and engineering research. Nearly all the workbenches and cabinets in these labs are movable, so researchers have complete control to organize their workspace.

Although the first floor is the only clean room lab, the researchers on the upper floors can easily access mobile, smaller clean room setups within their labs.

Inside the labs, special temperature-controlled rooms maintain environments for temperature-specific research. He said these areas are conditions-specific rather than department specific.

"The goal is to understand what a faculty member's needs are and minimize the need for reconfiguration," Gnade said.

The labs on the upper floors are connected to 12-foot-wide linear equipment rooms that house noisy equipment like refrigerators, compressors and pumps, so research areas are quiet and less cluttered.

The NSERL has eight small conference rooms and has one large conference room that can accommodate up to 75 people and double as a library. When you walk inside this room, you first see large, movable dry-erase boards. Then, when you look out the floor-to-ceiling windows, you see a sizable balcony that is intended for receptions.

The building is designed to host 40-45 faculty members and 300-350 members of their research groups and students, Gnade said.

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