Building Dedication Marks Milestone for N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences will dedicate the NC State University Plant Sciences Building on Tuesday, April 12, 2022, at 11 a.m. The event is free to attend, and the public is invited to join state officials, university leaders, donors and friends to celebrate this exciting milestone for the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative.

N.C. PSI is committed to improving the world through plant science innovation and strives to become the world’s premier plant sciences enterprise. By working with partners, N.C. PSI accelerates the discovery, talent development and applied solutions that solve agricultural challenges through interdisciplinary team-based science. The Plant Sciences Building supports this mission by providing an innovative space that includes:

• 80,000 gross square feet (gsf) of research labs;
• 16,000 gsf of BSL-2 and BSL-3 greenhouses;
• 17,000 gsf of shared conference space;
• 10,000 gsf of partner labs;
• And a 10,000-gsf Collaborative Hearth, co-working spaces and cutting-edge equipment.

Demonstrating N.C. PSI’s direct connection to the people, farms and agricultural economy of North Carolina, the building’s colors represent the diversity of the state’s geography.

The world-class facility stands at 185,000 square feet, including 10,000 square feet of under-glass greenhouse space, and cost $160.2 million to build. The Connect NC Bond provided $85 million toward its construction, while the Golden LEAF Foundation stepped forward with two grants totaling $48 million, which included the largest single contribution made to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and among the largest in the history of the university. The support of 150 donors, including commodity groups, industry leaders, legislators, alumni and friends throughout the state, was also key to funding construction.

The idea for and energy behind N.C. PSI came directly from North Carolina farmers, agricultural organizations and industry partners, all with the goal of creating a hub for scientists, government and the industrial sector to come together to solve problems and fuel prosperity. The Plant Science Building’s location on Centennial Campus furthers N.C. PSI’s ability to create and leverage connections across disciplines and across colleges — just one way the initiative is connecting innovation to results.

“Soon, the most important element of N.C. PSI — its talented, multidisciplinary team of researchers — will be moving their furniture, equipment and supplies from all points of the campus into their new N.C. PSI workspaces,” Adrian Percy, executive director of N.C. PSI, said in a recent report on the building’s progress.

“For the first time since N.C. PSI officially came into existence in 2014, we will have highly talented researchers across academia, government and industry working together in one building designed for close collaboration and next-generation research.”

Some of this work will be featured in the first demonstration in the building’s demo lab during the dedication. The event will include guest speakers, a ribbon-cutting, tours and a reception.

Visit go.ncsu.edu/plant-sciences-dedication for more information.

This post was originally published in Giving News.