Schedule of events for April 26 opening of Gordon Center for Integrative Science

Print-quality photos: View of the Ellen and Melvin Gordon Center for Integrative Science at the University of Chicago. Ellen and Melvin Gordon Please click here to download these and other print-quality photos related to the Gordon Center.

The University of Chicago on Wednesday, April 26 will dedicate one of the largest university interdisciplinary science buildings in the Midwest. The Ellen and Melvin Gordon Center for Integrative Science brings together scientists from the biological sciences and the physical sciences to work on projects that fall in between the traditional boundaries of scientific disciplines in fields ranging from condensed-matter physics to synthetic chemistry.

The architect for the seven-story building (two below ground and five above ground), was Ellenzweig Associates Inc. of Cambridge, Mass. The building provides laboratory and office space for the Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Ben May Institute for Cancer Research, the James Franck Institute and the Department of Chemistry. A schedule of dedication events is as follows.

• 1:30 p.m. Ribbon-cutting ceremony

  Center for Integrative Science, 929 E. 57th St.

• 2 p.m. Tours of the Center for Integrative Science

• 3 p.m. Faculty Seminars

  Drug Discovery—Basic Science Promising New Breakthroughs

  University of Chicago scientists are using the study of cell biology, development and signaling—harnessing the knowledge gained through basic science—to develop new targeted therapies for disease prevention and treatment.

  Geoffrey Greene, Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Associate Director, Ben May Institute for Cancer Research

  Marsha R. Rosner, Charles B. Huggins Professor in Neurobiology, Pharmacology & Physiology; Director, Ben May Institute for Cancer Research

  Wei-Jen Tang, Associate Professor in Cell Physiology

  The Material World—From Atoms to Beaches

  Researchers at the Gordon Center are pioneering new approaches to explain the organization and properties of matter from the nanoworld of atoms and molecules to the macroscopic world in which we live. Across this immense spectrum of sizes, recent breakthroughs in fundamental science allow researchers to understand and control complex emergent behavior, and provide opportunities for the creation of next-generation high-performance materials.

  Heinrich Jaeger, Professor in Physics

  Sidney Nagel, Stein-Freiler Distinguished Service Professor in Physics

  Steven Sibener, Carl William Eisendrath Professor in Chemistry; Director, James Frank Institute

  Wendy Zhang, Assistant Professor in Physics

• 4:30-5:45 p.m. Faculty Seminars

  Gene Networks—Influencing Immune System Development

  The various cells of the innate and adaptive immune system develop from a common stem cell. By applying theoretical and mathematical approaches to the study of gene regulatory networks, University of Chicago researchers are discovering ways to generate specific immune cells from stem cells and to create hybrid immune cells for improvements in human health.

  Aaron Dinner, Assistant Professor in Chemistry

  Harinder Singh, Louis Block Professor in Molecular & Cell Biology; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

  Instructions for Building Life

  Living organisms are made up of cells that are arranged into tissues, which carry out the many biological processes. As the minimum unit of life, the cell is a structure that still evades an understanding of its complex functions. Scientists at the University of Chicago are developing the tools that are giving insights into the function of the cells and, in turn, the blueprint for the cell.

  Rustem Ismagilov, Associate Professor in Chemistry

  Milan Mrksich, Professor in chemistry; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

• 6 p.m. Reception

• 7 p.m. Dinner

  “Small Science, Big Science: Laying the Foundation for Tomorrow’s Medicine.”

  Thomas R. Cech, Nobel Laureate and President, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Ellen and Melvin Gordon donate $25 million for University of Chicago’s largest-ever science building

University of Chicago to celebrate opening of the new Ellen and Melvin Gordon Center for Integrative Science April 26

New research building housing new scientific instruments

The quest for answers in the Ellen and Melvin Gordon Center for Integrative Science