A groundbreaking ceremony for the Bioplex at Missouri University of Science and Technology will begin at 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 9, on the Havener Arrival Complex’s lawn, north of Bertelsmeyer Hall.

When completed in 2028, the 127,000-square-foot Bioplex will serve as Missouri’s premier public facility with the dual mission of workforce training and advanced research in biomedical engineering and science. 

“This state-of-the-art facility reflects the university’s commitment to education and advancing research excellence in alignment with our student centricity and our status as a Carnegie R-1 research institution,” says Missouri S&T Chancellor Mo Dehghani. “The Bioplex will serve as a hub for innovation, attracting top-tier faculty and students dedicated to addressing critical challenges at the intersection of engineering, medicine and biology.”

The project represents Missouri S&T’s largest capital project to date and is fully funded by private gifts.

Facility features will include:

• Office, laboratory and other workspaces for 24 research teams
• A vivarium that meets Animal Biosafety Level 2 (ABSL-2) criteria for critical life science research
• Cognitive neuroscience suite
• Three teaching labs
• Three classrooms (capacities for 70, 50 and 30 students)
• Two conference rooms for seminars and thesis defenses
• Common core laboratory for the Biomedical Research Center and industry partners
• Sustainability in design: the building will be powered by a geothermal energy plant.

The facility allows for centralization of Missouri S&T’s Center for Biomedical Research and will feature advanced labs for imaging, genomics and histology. It will be the new home for S&T’s Center for Biomedical Research, which focuses on new biomaterials, including devices and therapeutics.

The Bioplex will be located near both Bertelsmeyer Hall and Schrenk Hall and will foster collaboration between researchers in the Linda and Bipin Doshi Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, chemistry, biological sciences, environmental science, and psychology programs.

In addition to Dehghani, speakers at the ceremony will include Dr. Stephen Roberts, vice chancellor of strategic initiatives at S&T; and three S&T alumni: Bipin Doshi, who serves on the Missouri S&T Board of Trustees and the Kummer Missouri S&T Foundation Board of Directors; Kathryn Walker, chair of the Kummer Missouri S&T Foundation Board of Directors; and Steve Wunning, president of the Missouri S&T Board of Trustees.

To learn more about plans for S&T’s Bioplex, please visit masterplan.mst.edu/bioplex.