Montgomery College Celebrates New Bioscience Education Center
Montgomery College President Dr. DeRionne P. Pollard and the College’s Board of Trustees dedicated the new Bioscience Education Center on the Germantown Campus Wednesday in front of elected officials, business executives, students and alumni.
The state of the art 145,000 square-foot building allows Montgomery College to expand its mission of providing educational excellence in the sciences to meet the county’s need for a highly skilled and knowledgeable STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) workforce.
“Our Bioscience Education Center will fortify our workforce from lab bench workers to the next generation of scientists,” the College president said during the ceremony held in the building’s spacious conference center. “It will fuel our economy. It will drive new discoveries and open new vistas.”
The three-story building represents an $87.9 million investment in STEM education and workforce development. The Bioscience Education Center houses:
- six general purpose classrooms,
- eight recitation rooms,
- 25 wet laboratories,
- a science learning center,
- a detached greenhouse complex,
- 48 offices to support the biology, biotechnology and chemistry curricula,
- a 4,115-square-foot meeting room (conference center) and five break-out rooms.
Throughout the facility, 700 electronic devices, including Smart Instructor Work Stations, computers and monitors will support activities in the classrooms and labs.
The building’s biotechnology laboratories were designed to provide instruction meeting industry standards, including dedicated space for teaching cell culture, biomanufacturing (cell propagation using bioreactors and protein purification using FPLC units) and genetic diagnostics utilizing Next Generation DNA sequencers and digital droplet PCR. A mock GMP lab that mimics the industry environment provides training opportunities for local industry partners.
"We are not your average college, and this is not your average bioscience education building," said Dr. Collins R. Jones, professor of biotechnology. "This building has greatly surpassed our expectations."
Mitchell Giurgola Architects designed the interior and the exterior of the building. The Lukmire Partnership, based in Arlington, Va. was the architect of record. Bethesda based Clark Construction started construction on the center in March 2011. The building’s structural steel frame supports composite metal decks. It is wrapped in a high-performance masonry, aluminum panel and curtain wall façade.
The projected LEED Gold-certified center features numerous sustainable elements, including roof-mounted wind turbines, a 30KW grid-connected photovoltaic solar panel system, and a high performance mechanical system with ice production/storage and ammonia chillers. More than 75 acres of mature forest and a stream valley buffer will be preserved on the Germantown Campus. The forest reserve includes a champion American elm with a 100-foot canopy – one of the largest in Montgomery County.
Maryland is a global leader in bioscience and technology education, and ranks among the top five regions nationally in biotechnology. The Center will offer outreach activities for MCPS students and opportunities for research and professional training in collaboration with local businesses, academic and government labs.
Dr. Hercules Pinkney is President Emeritus of Montgomery College. In his role as Vice President and Provost of the Germantown Campus, Dr. Pinkney was the College's point person for the Bioscience Education and Conference Center.
"The many months and years we spent planning this building and to see it in reality, it's just overwhelming… and I am just so appreciative to have had the opportunity to be a part of a facility that is going to reap benefits for our county in the years to come and for our students, as well as for the local economy," he said.
A Unique Educational Partnership Is Born on the Germantown Campus
Holy Cross Germantown Hospital will open in October of this year, creating a unique educational partnership with the College. The hospital, which will serve as the partner anchor for the Hercules Pinkney Life Sciences Park, will be a valuable resource for aspiring health care workers and will provide students with hands-on learning, state-of-the-art instructional space and exposure to the most advanced medical technology.
"The Bioscience Educational Center is not only a significant asset for the County, but perhaps more importantly, represents a big step forward towards the implementation of the vision for the Hercules Pinkney Life Sciences Park," said Doug Wrenn, chairman of the Life Sciences Park Foundation and principal of Rogers Consulting in Germantown.
Holy Cross Germantown Hospital will be the first hospital in the nation located on a community college campus with an educational partnership–to help train the next generation of health care professionals.
The hospital’s community open house will be Sunday, September 21, 2014. Learn more about Holy Cross Germantown Hospital by clicking here. For maps and directions to the Germantown Campus, click here.
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Montgomery College is a public, open admissions community college with campuses in Germantown, Rockville, and Takoma Park/Silver Spring, plus workforce development/continuing education centers and off-site programs throughout Montgomery County, Md. The College serves nearly 60,000 students a year, through both credit and noncredit programs, in more than 130 areas of study.
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