$8.2 Million grant extends life, and purpose of science building

The South Carolina Legislature recently approved $8.2 million, which will be invested in upgrading USCA’s Science and Engineering building’s infrastructure, increasing hands-on-learning opportunities and enhancing collaboration between USCA and regional partners.

“As USCA grows in serving the region with an expanding science, cyber and engineering portfolio, we must also address the demand for wet lab collaborative research with regional industry and laboratories in the areas of materials science and environmental science,” said Dr. Scott McKay, associate vice chancellor for research and strategic initiatives.

“Currently, our laboratory capacity in the science building is not adequate to expand the number of collaborative projects in a chemical environment to provide for the growing workforce demand.”

The enhancements to the building will include three additional wet lab spaces, known as the External Collaborative Applied Research Center (ECARC). The three labs will focus on materials science and engineering: advanced instrumentation and environmental management.  These labs will directly support area industries’ environmental management and the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative missions.” 

The new labs were intentionally identified as part of the building’s upgrade to help meet the demands of industry and stakeholders in the area.  Former and retired Savannah River Nuclear Laboratory and regional industry scientists and engineers will serve in the ECARC as research affiliates.  Working with USCA faculty, these affiliates will conduct research and mentor USCA students. The research conducted will be collaborative between the university and other sectors.  Specifically, the efforts will support the missions and work of the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative, the Savannah River Site and myriad others.

This investment directly supports vision outlined in the university’s strategic plan by expanding the capacity and extending the useful life of the current science building. Specifically, it expands and supports experiential learning opportunities and develops programs and research aligned with the employment and applied research needs of the region.  In addition, it continues the effort to develop innovative centers for applied research in areas that drive regional and economic needs.

The investment will increase the working space in the Science and Engineering building by almost 5,000 square feet.

For more information, contact USCA Marketing & Communication at news@usca.edu.