The Phase I Krasnow Expansion Projects are of course getting under way and I thought this might be a good time to give a picture of what institute life will be like approximately 18 months from now when we’re moved in.
First, Krasnow will be larger in terms of research groups. I’m anticipating that there will be at least one new PI in place (with his or her laboratory group) and we’ll be in the process of recruiting for the second of six. This new PI will be a cognitive neuroscientist and I expect his/her research area to complement our existing cognitive neuroscience strengths. Obviously this new group will be a heavy user of NIKI (NeuroImaging at the Krasnow Institute) where I hope we’ll be looking at several instrumentation upgrades to our existing 3T Allegra system.
Second, Krasnow will once again become, if briefly, a place with ample space to spread out although we intend the research usage of the new space to be far greater than that of the old space. But there certainly will be a welcome break in the relentless up-tick in our population density.
Third, our academic connections will be on order of magnitude more intense than they have been. We’ll be seeing Krasnow involvement in everything from undergraduate research experiences to of course doctoral programs but also including post-graduate medical education opportunities. That will be a reflection of the growth of the University, especially in the life sciences.
Of course our woods will be intact (mostly) outside the east-facing windows and we’ll probably be facing the same issues with parking that we always have.
And…
we’ll be beginning the intense push for the Phase II expansion project, which will add an additional 12,500 square feet of research space to our facility. This will be an opportunity once again for input from our entire community of scholars and staff.
Will all of this be worth the various inconveniences along the way? I certainly think so. It will allow us to build scientifically upon our current strengths and to achieve critical mass across all of the fields (Computer Sciences, Behavioral Biology and Neuroscience) that our founders envisaged over 15 years ago.
Jim
Discoverers and Discoveries 