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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 30, 1993)
By Tom Mainelli In 1958 Nebraskan George W. Beadle re ceived worldwide attention when he won a Nobel Priz for his groundbreaking work in genetics. Nearly 36 years later University of Nebraska Lincoln officials are hoping to once again bring na tional attention to the Beadle name, through the work of researchers at the George W. Beadle Center for Genetics and Biomaterials Research. The $31.5 million cents is under construction east of 17th Street and south of Vine Street. The main building will house UNL’s centers for biotechnology and biological chemistry and the departments of chemical engineering and biochemistry. The center will also contain new biological greenhouses, new utility tunnels and a new "chiller" that will increase air-conditioning capacity on City Campus. Marion O’Leary, head c UNL’s biochemistry depart merit, said the Beadle building would be a high tech facility that would provide scientists with the tools to break new ground 3 in many areas of research. “The center will move us ahead in scientific and technological research,” O’Leary said. “We’ll be able to do cutting-edge research that has significant economic benefits for the state and the region." Those eco . nomic benefits would come, in r part, from the research projects that result in the creation of new products. Irv Omtvedt, vice chancellor of the Insfjtute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said product research would include the creation of biodegradable plastics, alternative cloth fibers and fuels, and new lubricants for machines. O’Leary said other projects would include the >f development of new plants - that are genetically engi nee red to be more resistant to insects, viruses and herbicides. Bioremediation re search is also planned, O’Leary said. Bioremediation is the use of special bacteria that devour toxins. The devel opment of this type of bacteria could bring ' "The center will move us ahead in scientific and technological research/' Marion O'Leary head of UNL 's biochemistry department * L- iL. ' . r--i • national attention to UNL as communities look for ways to detoxify harmful substances that are otherwise difficult to remove. Omtvedt said the key to the success of many of these product develop ment projects would be the different departments working together. “Most of the problems we encounter are broader % • ^4' ' than one discipline,’ he said. "You cannot look at them in segments, you need to look at the whole problem. ‘This interdisciplinary approach is very different, Omtvedt said. “Nobody else has chemical engi neering working as closely with biochemistry." Along with the various departments ? working to gether, Omtvedt said the private sector would be involved in the process. Private businesses would play a role in every thing from research to production of these various products, Omtvedt said. These private compa nies would also be allowed time for research in the Beadle Center facility. Some will work indepen dently, and others along side university researchers, he said. Besides the money generated through new ; . '' ' « r* 1 * • I • r,f - •» S ‘. *iv > ' • * ». -• .. product development, O’Leary said the Beadle Center would help univer- . sity researchers in their search for grants. "The Beadle Center will make us more attractive; it should help us bring in more grants," O’Leary said. Money from organiza tions such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health is usually granted to individual researchers. These grants cover every thing from research materi als to salaries, he said. O’Leary said 13 bio chemistry researchers brought in about $1.8 million in grants last year. With the use ofimproved facilities that number should go up. While increased re search, product develop ment and visibility were important factors in the creation of the Beadle Center, O’Leary said it was important to point out that those would not be the center’s only functions. I The facility will also house UNL’s biochemistry