Montgomery College to Dedicate Bioscience Education Center, Sept. 10, on the Germantown Campus
The Montgomery College community, College President Dr. DeRionne P. Pollard and the College’s Board of Trustees will celebrate the opening of the Bioscience Education Center on the Montgomery College-Germantown Campus, 20200 Observation Drive on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. The dedication ceremony, which begins at 9:30 a.m., will be followed by a reception and tour of the building.
Members of the media interested in attending the Bioscience Education Center dedication should RSVP to Marcus Rosano at 240-567-4022 or marcus.rosano@montgomerycollege.edu.
The Bioscience Education Center, a stunning, state of the art 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. As the academic cornerstone of the planned life sciences park, the 141,000 square-foot building will provide opportunities for undergraduate research and the expansion of course and program offerings.
Maryland is a global leader in bioscience and technology education, and ranks among the top five regions nationally in biotechnology. The center will provide a continuum of life sciences education and training from middle school to postdoctoral levels in an integrated academic, business, and research environment. By preparing the skilled workforce locally, the Bioscience Education Center will help to stimulate economic development.
The center houses six general purpose classrooms, eight recitation rooms, 25 wet laboratories, a detached greenhouse complex, the science learning center, and 48 offices to support the biology, biotechnology and chemistry curricula. A 4,115-square-foot meeting room and five break-out rooms will support conferences. The 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.
Throughout the facility, 700 electronic devices, including Smart Instructor Work Stations, computers and monitors will support activities in the classrooms and labs.
The three-story center represents an $87.9 million investment in STEM education and workforce development. The Lukmire Partnership, based in Arlington, Va., served as the architect on the project and 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.
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.
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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