COLUMBUS – The groundbreaking ceremony for the Stanley J. Aronoff Laboratory of Biological Sciences is set for Friday, November 2, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. adjacent to the site at 318 W. 12th Avenue, between Parking Garage K and the Botany & Zoology Building (B&Z) at 12th and Neil Avenues, on the Columbus Campus of The Ohio State University.

When completed in 2003, this five-story, $26, 676,250 building, will provide 107,000 square feet of laboratory and office space for College of Biological Sciences' faculty, staff and students in the Departments of Entomology; Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology; and Plant Biology.

"This high-tech laboratory will facilitate modern biological research carried out by our faculty, staff, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers. Just as importantly, it will enhance our teaching mission and provide an environment to nurture increased undergraduate research activity," says Richard W. Hall, Interim Dean of the College of Biological Sciences.

In addition to department offices, the building will contain 32 research laboratories plus cold rooms, autoclave rooms, darkrooms, microscope rooms, and other research support spaces. The hallways in the laboratory portion of the building function as linear equipment zones housing safety devices and shared equipment. The building also contains faculty, staff and student officers, interaction spaces and four conference rooms.

Researchers in the building will study such things as insect behavior and physiology; restoration ecology; metal-absorbing properties of plants; metabolic engineering; environmental impact of introduced species, and movement of toxins through aquatic food chains. They will examine effects of global climate change on forest ecosystems; plant development; structure and function; ecological impact of transgenic plants; habitat fragmentation; space biology; and social behavior in animals.

The new facility, which is named for former Ohio Senate President and long-time supporter of the University, Stanley J. Aronoff, is an important component of the Biological Sciences Complex and is the second phase of the three-phase process of renovating and developing the buildings in the B&Z area. Phase one was the construction of the Biological Sciences Greenhouse that replaced the old B&Z greenhouses located on this site. Phase three is the renovation of the historic Botany & Zoology Building itself, which is scheduled to begin in about two years.

For information, contact: Sandi Rutkowski, 614-292-4759; rutkowski.1@osu.edu

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