USC Molecular & Computational Building
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The Tools, and Space, for Success
With an Eye Toward the Future, USC College Expands and Transforms its Facilities
Cutting-edge discoveries require state-of-the-art tools and equipment.
Pre-eminent faculty members expect first-rate facilities. The best and
brightest students demand access to current technologies and modern
learning spaces.
In response to USC College’s rapid growth in size, stature and
complexity — and its ambitions for more of the same — College leaders
have moved to transform the academic environment of the College.
“It’s clear that we face a dire need for more space, especially with a
growing faculty and an expanding research enterprise. We’re responding
to those needs while working to upgrade facilities across the board, “
said USC College Dean Joseph Aoun.
The College has marked a number of key milestones in this effort, with
more than half of current College space having been built new or
substantially remodeled in the last five years. Chief among these was
the completion of two major capital projects expected to help propel
USC to the front ranks of life science research:
• The Dana and David Dornsife Cognitive Neuroscience Imaging Center,
which features a state-of-the-art brain-imaging scanner, opened in
September 2004; and
• The Molecular & Computational Biology Building (MCB) dedicated to
interdisciplinary research in genomics, genetics and molecular
evolution, opened in April 2005.
“First-rate research infrastructure is important to the success of the
College and to the enhancement of the entire university,” said USC
President Steven B. Sample at the MCB Building dedication.
The Dornsife Imaging Center and the MCB Building are part of the
largest building campaign in USC history, Sample said, noting that USC
is in the midst of a plan to construct 28 new buildings and add 8.1
million square feet to the university — almost equal to building
another campus.
The Dornsife Center, in addition to further integrating the
university-wide neuroscience program and facilitating new insights into
brain-based disorders and disease, has already helped draw top
scientists to USC. It was instrumental in bringing famed cognitive
neuroscientists Antonio and Hanna Damasio to the College. Directed by
Hanna Damasio, the Dornsife Center will play a central role in the
research of a new interdisciplinary institute, established by the
Damasios, focused on creativity, emotion and the human brain.
The MCB Building is essential, too, for ongoing recruitment efforts of
top-notch life scientists, said Norman Arnheim, holder of the Ester
Dornsife Chair in Biological Sciences. “The new building is everything
in terms of attracting the people we want.”
It’s also key to interdisciplinary research, Aoun said. “This building
will be a resource for the whole campus and bring together researchers
from the College, USC Viterbi School of Engineering, the Keck School of
Medicine, and others,” he said. “It will help bridge the gap between
fundamental research and the applied sciences, fostering interactions
expected to pay extraordinary dividends, not only in the understanding
of disease but also in the design of new drugs and therapies.”
The USC Wrigley Institute finished their own capital project —
construction of new dorms and faculty cottages — designed to increase
use of the Wrigley’s unique island teaching and research facility on
Catalina.
The majority of College projects have focused on modernizing and
increasing the efficiency of existing space. Since 2000, the College
has completed nearly 200 projects, ranging from the refurbishment of
single classrooms to the total renovation of the Zumberge Hall of
Science (formerly Science Hall) and Taper Hall.
As the use of electronic media increases, many classrooms have been
upgraded to enable its use. The Language Center has undergone a major
high-tech transformation. Hardware has been installed in select lecture
halls that enable professors to use interactive “clickers” — remote
control-like devices that provide feedback on student learning and
attendance.
“Even with the progress we’ve made so far, we face a daunting task,”
Aoun said. “We need to reach out to our alumni and friends to provide
us with support to make the College an ideal environment for learning,
teaching and research.”
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