MTSU unveils Science Corridor of Innovation

Middle Tennessee State University's rebranded and renovated new and old science buildings will help in the Middle Tennessee's workforce development efforts, local officials said.

With a grand reopening celebration Wednesday morning, the university publicly unveiled Davis Science Building and Wiser-Patten Science Hall, which underwent renovations totaling $20 million to $25 million over the past two years.

The historic buildings have been partnered with the $147 million Science Building that opened in fall 2014 as the Science Corridor of Innovation, MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee said.

“With these renovations, we now have what I consider some of the best science facilities in the country, offering students a wide variety of innovative programs, research spaces and learning environments,” McPhee said.

The renovations of Wiser-Patten Science Hall, which opened in 1932, and Davis Science Building, which opened in 1968, will add to MTSU’s stature in research, recruiting students and faculty, entrepreneurial efforts and future job placement for undergraduate and graduate students, McPhee said.

McPhee said the two “magnificent structures, restored and improved to a state far beyond the condition they enjoyed in their former prime, join the jewel of our campus — the 250,000-square-foot Science Building that houses our biology and chemistry departments, as well as home to many of our key research laboratories.”

The additions to campus will also help in the county’s continued workforce development efforts, said Beth Duffield, senior vice president, Education & Workforce Development, Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce.

“The continued growth in STEM jobs in Rutherford County demands that we have a workforce that is trained and ready for work when they complete their post-secondary schooling,” she said.

In fact, the prospect of MTSU’s new state-of-the-art Science Building helped recruit the headquarters and research and development departments of Schwan Cosmetics and Japanese auto supplier Kasai North American to Murfreesboro.

“The new science building at MTSU and the renovations made to the Wiser-Paton Building are great news for our students,” Duffield said. “Not only are they receiving a world-class education, but they have the opportunity to work with the latest technology and in state-of-the-art lab space.”

The renovations have given students and faculty about 110,000 square feet of science space, along with expanded laboratory and classroom spaces for the geoscience, physics and astronomy, and mechatronics engineering departments. Fermentation science, a new School of Agribusiness and Agriscience program, has featured space.

The Forensic Institute for Research and Education will also feature new office and lab space, said Hugh Berryman, nationally recognized director of the Forensic Institute for Research and Education.

“We are especially excited about our new forensic anthropology laboratory, which provides an area to consult with law enforcement and medical examiners on forensic skeletal cases,” he said.

Berryman added the space will facilitate student research projects by providing technical equipment, like a X-ray fluorescent analyzer, surgical microscope with digital photographic equipment and microscribe digitizer.

Robert “Bud” Fischer, College of Basic and Applied Sciences dean, is ecstatic about the present and future.

“When you talk about the Science Innovation Corridor, I think of it as science, but science in a broader sense,” Fischer said.

He added the corridor includes James E. Walker Library, with all of its science holdings, Dean Bonnie Allen’s implementation of the new Makerspace area and  the John Bragg Media and Entertainment Building.

Wiser-Patten maintains its historic look and has refurbished front steps. Planners and construction crews created additional natural lighting and kept much of the original wood floors in Wiser-Patten.

The Strobel Connector and other areas will provide more collaborative space for students and faculty. Both have first-class labs and many flat-screen televisions will add to the learning experience.

Reach Michelle Willard at mwillard@dnj.com or 615-278-5164 and on Twitter @michwillard.

Great Tennessee Eclipse Event

On Aug. 21, Middle Tennessee will be in the direct path of a solar eclipse. Around 1:30 p.m., Murfreesboro will be darkened for nearly two minutes as the moon passes in front of the sun.

With a gift from presenting sponsor Turner Construction, MTSU and physics and astronomy will host the Great Tennessee Eclipse Event to mark the occasion. Safety glasses will be given to students in Rutherford and surrounding counties, and feature the Turner logo.

The rare solar eclipse will offer a near 100 percent view in Nashville and Murfreesboro. Students and their schools will be invited to campus to not only view the eclipse, but also visit the science buildings.