Located 19 feet below ground level, the University of Oregon’s Lorry I. Lokey Laboratories is a unique facility encased in bedrock, providing an optimal setting for research at the nanoscale. Interior glass walls allow observers to view research activities in progress. The new facility, a part of the Integrated Science Complex, located beween Deschutes and Huestis Hall, on the University of Oregon campus, is a signature research center associated with the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI).

Business Wire founder and UO donor Lorry I. Lokey dug the first foot of dirt to begin construction on the University of Oregon’s two-phase, $76 million Integrative Science Complex in June 2006. During the past 15 months, the building has been built with very few people able to see the progress – only because the building is completely underground.

The footprint of the 26,000-gross-square-foot building was designed to sit squarely on bedrock to minimize vibration interference for the sensitive instruments required to work at the micro- and nano- scales.

The facility, named in Lorry Lokey’s honor, officially opens October 15, 2007. A signature research center associated with the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI), the Lokey Laboratories is built upon a strong foundation of inter-institutional collaboration. ONAMI includes researchers from the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Portland State University, Pacific Northwest National Laboratories and the region’s high-tech companies.

In addition to semiconductor, photolithography, nanofabrication and bio-optics labs, the center houses the university’s Center for Advanced Materials Characterization in Oregon (CAMCOR) and provide laboratory space for industry partners.

Leaders envision the facility as providing a high-tech extension service to the entire region. Dave Chen, partner in OVP Venture Partners and chair of the board of directors for ONAMI, described it as an important part of a resource network that will enable students, professors and industry researchers to have access to millions of dollars of equipment at any time of day.

“Our operating philosophy of open access for this new facility represents a complete departure from business as usual at universities,” said Professor of Chemistry Dave Johnson.

The instruments, used to characterize materials for researchers from archaeology to optics, will be centrally located to give other off-campus researchers easier access to state-of-the-art technologies.

“By having the right spaces in close proximity to one another, we’re able to have each facility work better and more efficiently,” said Professor Jim Hutchison, lead faculty representative on the architectural planning and design group.

Working adjacent to industry collaborators will also spur more opportunities for discovery, helping to bring those discoveries quickly and more effectively to market, Linton said.

“Through ONAMI, our scientists have conducted research with UO faculty for the past several years,” said Voxtel President George Williams. “These collaborations have enriched our research capabilities, and we’re confident that our company will continue to grow right alongside with the rest of Oregon’s high-tech sector.”

For more information on the Integrated Science Complex, visit its website.

Tours will depart Oregon Hall on Friday, October 12 at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and will be limited to 15 people each tour.

Image: Animated Bird’s eye view of the oval-shaped courtyard covering the University of Oregon’s Lorry I. Lokey Laboratories. Photo by SRG Partnership.