UC San Diego dedicated a new laboratory building Tuesday that promises to support a major increase in cross-disciplinary scientific research.
When finished in 2018, the Tata Hall for The Sciences will house 20 new chemistry and biology laboratories, including many set up as learning labs for undergraduates.
It will also be the home of the Tata Institute for Genetics and Society and the Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, two centers that Chancellor Pradeep Khosla called “marque programs” of the university.
“On thing that distinguishes this campus…is a long history of cross-disciplinary collaboration,” said Bill McGinnis, dean of biological sciences.
His counterpart, the dean of physical sciences, Steven Boggs, said the new laboratory building would help UC San Diego students and faculty “explore the future of of science and develop tools to understand the physical universe.”
The building is named for the Tata Trusts, India’s largest philanthropic organization, which funded the Tata Institute.
Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Trusts, said he was drawn to UC San Diego because of its emphasis on cross-disciplinary research.
He said that on his first visit “you got the feeling there was something happening here” and he has come to see the university as a “gold mine of intellectual capacity.”
The 128,000 square-foot building will support research in genetics, brain activity mapping, advanced energy and drug discovery innovation.