New Clark School Bioengineering Wing of Kim Building to be Unveiled at Noon on April 11

MEDIA ADVISORY  April 4, 2008

CONTACT:
Faye Levine
301 405 0379
flevine@umd.edu

WHAT: A new, $7.6 million, 7,400-square-foot wing of the Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building, built to house the rapidly growing Fischell Department of Bioengineering at the A. James Clark School of Engineering, will be unveiled.

Highlights of the new space include:

• Two named wet labs plus additional lab space available for future faculty
• Labs in the new wing are equipped with autoclaves, coldrooms, freezers, biological hoods, and more
• A new office suite that serves as the main office of the department and includes five offices for faculty and staff, plus meeting and cubicle space
• The new wing adjoins the FabLab of the Maryland NanoCenter
• Construction on the new wing began in August of 2006 and the department moved in December 2007
• Full fact sheet on the new wing available online.

WHO: Participants in the ribbon-cutting ceremony will include University of Maryland Provost Nariman Farvardin, Clark School Interim Dean Herbert Rabin and Fischell Department Chair William Bentley, as well as Robert E. Fischell and two of his sons, Scott and David.

WHEN: Friday, April 11, 2008
Noon

**This event is a part of the 2nd Annual Fischell Festival of Bioengineering**
Detailed agenda available online.

WHERE: Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building, 2nd Floor, West Corridor
A. James Clark School of Engineering
University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
Directions

New Bioengineering Wing Fact Sheet

Location: 2nd Floor, West Corridor of the Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building on the University of Maryland, College Park campus

Size: 7,400 square feet

Cost: $7.6 million

Rooms:

• Two named wet labs (Biophotonic Imaging and Biomaterials Engineering), plus additional lab space available for future faculty.
  Lab occupants:
  
  • Associate Professor Bruce Yu (Biomaterials Engineering) studies microsensors to aid the repair and rehabilitation of injured musculoskeletal tissues and studies the delivery of radio-pharmaceuticals
  • Assistant Professor Yu "Tim" Chen (Biophotonic Imaging) studies biomedical optical imaging to improve early disease detection
  • Once all of the labs are occupied, they will house around 30 students
• A new office suite that serves as the main office of the department and includes five offices for faculty and staff, plus meeting and cubicle space

Other details:

• The new wing adjoins the FabLab of the Maryland NanoCenter
• Ribbon-cutting ceremony: April 11, 2008, 12 p.m.
• Construction began in August of 2006 and the department moved in December 2007
• Labs in the new wing are equipped with autoclaves, coldrooms, freezers, biological hoods and more

Quote from William Bentley, Robert E. Fischell Distinguished Professor and department chair:
"We recognize that the next generation of biomedical devices will come out of the synergy between bioengineering and microfabrication. Our new space positions us to take advantage of these two related fields and to foster increasing partnerships in these areas."

About the Fischell Department of Bioengineering:
The A. James Clark School of Engineering established the Fischell Department of Bioengineering in July of 2006 thanks to a transformational $31 million gift from Dr. Robert E. Fischell and his family. The first cohort of undergraduate students began their studies in the Fall of 2007 and numbered 78. For more information on this rapidly growing department, please visit www.bioe.umd.edu

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