IN AUGUST 2001, NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY launched the Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering with the mission of engaging in pioneering, interdisciplinary research, and technology development on materials whose functional design starts at the atomic-molecular scale. The Center is located in the University’s 55-acre Research and Technology Park, which also hosts a research and administration building known as Research 1 and the Phoenix International, a division of John Deere.

In 2003, after two years of successful expansion and growth, North Dakota State University (NDSU) anticipated that the Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) would need a new building dedicated primarily to nanoscale science and engineering research. Such a facility would require process engineering, chemistry and electronics laboratories, cleanrooms, and administrative space. The University turned to HGA, an architectural and engineering firm with experience in these areas including Polarfab and the University of Minnesota’s ElectricalEngineering Building.

Research 2: Science, Nature and Design

When HGA and their partners, North Dakota-based Foss Associates, and San Diego-based lab consultants RFD began the project, the design and engineering teams had rigorous, creative discussions with the University to determine the design and function objectives. From these considerations came design criteria for the $17 million building that would be called Research 2:

• House the University’s Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) and the Center for High Performance Computing (CHPC),
• accommodate the high-tech demands required in the nanoscale science and engineering research fields,
• incorporate an interior elasticity in the event that labs needed to be redesigned or reconfigured based on research requirements; and
• uphold CNSE’s high visibility and maintain its ability to attract and retain highly qualified staff and partnerships with the University.