Supporters celebrate building cornerstone

Supporters celebrate building cornerstone

Donors for the Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology Building and for the CIMB program, gathered on May 9 to celebrate the placement of the building’s cornerstone. To commemorate the event, a time capsule was buried near the building containing a variety of mementoes to be rediscovered 100 years from now.

“This is cutting-edge technology now, and soon to be obsolete,” said CIMB’s Chief Science Officer Leslie Leinwand, as she placed a small, black object in a plastic sleeve into the time capsule. It was an Affymetrix GeneChip, which is a DNA microarray currently used in molecular biology to measure changes in gene expression levels or to genotype mutant genomes.

CU President Bruce Benson’s commencement speech, a Canadian coin and a sealed envelope containing predictions about our society in 100 years were enclosed in the capsule. A heavy copper plaque commemorating those who are constructing the building rests at the bottom of the capsule. Books, magazine articles and letters were also included, as well as photos and documents about the remarkable woman for whom the building is named.

The Biotechnology Building will house researchers, faculty, staff and students in support of a CU system-wide biosciences initiative. The vision for the building is to bring together scientists from various disciplines to collaborate on solutions for a variety of biological challenges. The 330,000 square foot building is expected to open in early 2012.

Read more about the Caruthers Biotechnology Building