Discovery Learning Initiative

College Breaks Ground on Discovery Learning Center (continued)

An artist's rendering of the Discovery Learning Center with the Engineering Center behind it.

The college is pleased to be breaking ground this spring on an exciting new research and learning laboratory that will enhance undergraduate and graduate education through greater access to the research enterprise.

The new Discovery Learning Center (DLC) will provide a 45,000-square-foot, technology-rich research and learning environment where students at all levels can work with faculty and industry representatives on the latest challenges facing society.

The May 12 groundbreaking was combined with an academic/ industry conference titled, "Discovery Learning: An Open Source Initiative." Construction of the new facility is expected to be complete by Fall 2001.

The Discovery Learning Center is the focal point of a college-wide initiative making research more accessible to students. The $15.3 million facility is being funded through a partnership between the State of Colorado and various corporations, foundations, students, alumni and other donors.

Half of the assignable space in the DLC is reserved for college-wide use, including a flexible teleconferencing facility, student group study rooms, offices for visiting faculty and industry partners, and interaction workrooms. The rest of the space has been assigned to initial tenants, who were selected based on the involvement of vertically integrated teams of students in their research programs:

• Biotechnology/Biomaterials Discovery Laboratory • Center for Drinking Water Optimization • Center for LifeLong Learning and Design • Colorado Center for Information Storage • Colorado Space Grant Consortium • Computing Discovery House • Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program • Small Communicating Computer Laboratory • Space Experiments Institute

These are among the most exciting research programs in the college, but they still are only the initial tenants of the DLC. The multidimensional, four-level laboratory has been designed by Klipp Colussy Jenks DuBois Architects to be reconfigurable to accommodate new research programs and changing needs. Programs located in the DLC will undergo annual faculty review to ensure they adhere to the Discovery Learning mission.

The new facility will be located at the southwest corner of Regent Drive and Colorado Boulevard, with a bridge linking it to its sister facility, ITLL. Together, they create a new gateway to the Boulder campus—a gateway that ushers in a new era for undergraduates in the research university.

For more information on the Discovery Learning Center and Initiative, call 303-492-7427 or visit discoverylearning.colorado.edu.