The Biomedical and Materials Engineering Complex, the new home for Biomedical Engineering!
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Phase one of the Biomedical and Materials Engineering Complex (BMEC) is now officially known as the Mars G. Fontana Laboratories. Only at Ohio State will two accomplished departments—biomedical engineering and materials science and engineering—co-locate together in a facility offering unlimited opportunity for discovery. A facility with a mandate for collaboration in its design DNA, that will unite students, faculty and industry partners to solve problems across disciplines. A facility that will set a new bar for innovation in higher education and research.
MAXIMIZING RESEARCH IMPACT
The College of Engineering’s research expenditures are already among the highest at the university, ranking third in the nation among all university engineering programs. The complex will help to continue this upward trajectory, presenting more opportunities for researchers to partner with interdisciplinary co-investigators, leading to more federal research awards and industry research investments, which increasingly reward collaboration across disciplines to solve complicated problems. Undergraduate participation in research will also increase through the scaffolded learning model that moves students up from introductory courses on the first and second floors of the building to research experiences on the upper floors. As research dollars rise, the college will experience more success with strategic faculty recruiting.
SHOWCASING TEACHING AND LEARNING
Students at the complex will experience one of the best learning atmospheres in the nation. This will be evident to all who visit, as walls of windows in classrooms will put experiential teaching and learning on display. The complex will enable both departments to significantly increase their student body, and engage in proactive student recruiting as the best, brightest students worldwide are drawn to pursue opportunities at Ohio State.
CREATING PURPOSEFUL SYNERGIES AND COLLABORATIONS
With collaboration in its very DNA, the complex will strengthen partnerships within the university and with industry and government. Partners may use the facility for off-site meetings, to demonstrate new technologies to students and faculty, and to learn about intellectual property and commercialization opportunities at Ohio State. Companies will have opportunities to get to know and recruit our talented students who will have learned to take risks and make mistakes in our laboratories.
ENORMOUS POTENTIAL FOR BREAKTHROUGHS IN BIOMATERIALS
When the departments of biomedical engineering and materials science and engineering come together, amazing advances are possible— particularly in biomaterials. The facility will position Ohio State for true leadership in this area, as engineers partner with colleagues in the College of Medicine and across other disciplines to develop biomaterials that improve and save lives. With the global market for biomaterials projected to reach $115 billion by the end of 2020, Ohio State has enormous potential to advance technologies including engineered tissue, implantable drug delivery devices, stem cell scaffolds, joint replacements and biodegradable stents.
Phase one construction of the Biomedical and Materials Engineering Complex, scheduled to open in 2020, will transform the aging engineering buildings on West 19th Avenue into a cutting-edge five-floor facility commensurate with the excellence of the departments it will welcome. Visually stunning, and with every attention paid to functionality, the complex will showcase the exceptional teaching and research happening in the heart of Ohio State’smain campus, while inspiring Imagine the possibilities when our immensely talented faculty and students have access to a world-class facility—the discoveries they will make, the problems they will solve.
To celebrate this significant investment in our students, faculty and staff, the college of engineering will host a grand opening celebration on September 25 – 26, 2020, in conjunction with College of Engineering Homecoming festivities. Details will be shared in the coming months.