ANN ARBOR, Mich. — When the University of Michigan purchased a vacant pharmaceutical research campus four years ago, a very specific vision drove the decision: to turn it into a springboard for new discoveries, university-industry interaction, job creation and educational opportunity.
Today, U-M researchers and their partners have made great strides toward fulfilling that vision, according to a presentation today to the U-M Board of Regents. The board heard the update in their first meeting at the site, called the North Campus Research Complex.
In the presentation, NCRC executive director Dr. David Canter described the current state of research and operations at the complex – and the potential for further growth. Today, he said, NCRC has:
- More than 2,200 people working at the site -- about 1,000 of them involved in one of the five major research programs created since NCRC opened:
- Faculty, staff and students from over 40 U-M Medical School departments and units, 13 other U-M schools and colleges, 20 external companies, the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, and many of U-M’s research-supporting offices including the Business Engagement Center.
- 200 faculty researchers – 22 of whom were recruited to U-M in part because of the availability of high-quality laboratory space or collaborative office environments at NCRC
- Many “core” facilities that scientists from all over U-M and industry can use, to sequence DNA, probe huge databases of research information, use powerful microscopes and study cells and molecules with advanced technology.
- Event space that has hosted hundreds of large and small gatherings, with tens of thousands of attendees.
- Amenities – from food service and bus stops to exercise facilities, art exhibits and child care – that make the campus an attractive place to work. Satisfaction among those based at NCRC has risen quickly.
“The last four years have been focused on the practicalities of restarting and operating the site, and bringing scientific teams together in new ways,” Canter explains. “We have made excellent progress, but now we can really begin to talk about the research programs and the accomplishments they are making in translating research into data, drugs and devices that can help human health and well-being.”
The university has invested $214 million in the site - $108 million for the initial purchase, and the rest for renovating and upgrading facilities and operating the site. Further investment will be needed to renovate and prepare the remaining buildings on the site for use.
Canter likened the last four years to a sculpture that stands outside one of NCRC’s main buildings – a large white marble egg standing near a dark granite “O” shape. The latter is perfectly smooth and round – except for a crack that artist David Barr deliberately created on one edge.
The piece, part of a larger work called “Liberation”, was installed by NCRC’s former owners and expresses the spirit of scientific research and the scientific and inventive process, Canter says. As U-M transforms the site into its own research campus, the sculpture’s meaning remains apt.
But as the crack in the sculpture symbolizes, the process of research – and the process of creating a research campus – doesn’t always go according to plan.
“The crack reminds us that nothing is perfect, and that we must attempt to be as successful as we can, but also constantly try to do better,” says Canter. “As we move forward at NCRC, we’ll continue to work toward fulfilling that original vision for NCRC, and creating a place where cross-disciplinary science can flourish.”
A quick look at the U-M North Campus Research Complex four years after its purchase.