This week, the University of Utah will open the L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building — a new home for future physicists, astronomers and atmospheric scientists.
The $97 million building is the final piece of the 275,000-square-foot Crocker Science Complex, which includes the newly renovated historic William Stewart School Building and the Crocker Science Center. Together, this cluster of bricks and mortar on University Street adjacent to President’s Circle represents an audacious and optimistic investment in scientific research and education.
The U graduates more than half of the STEM students in the Utah System of Higher Education. The new addition to the complex provides a 56% increase in capacity for experimental and computational undergraduate physics labs. Every future U-educated nurse, chemist, engineer, statistician and software developer will take classes in these buildings. In fact, required prerequisite courses for 37 different degree programs and nine pre-professional programs will be offered here.
In these buildings, the departments of Physics & Astronomy and Atmospheric Sciences will advance aerospace, semiconductor technology, biotechnology, data science, hazardous weather forecasting, air quality and particle physics research. The complex hosts monitors that track dust, aerosols and particulate matter, which scientists use to help communities protect their health. A nearby lab can access a research-grade telescope in a remote part of the state. The basement hosts a world-class cryogenic facility, allowing physicists to explore the design and properties of quantum superconducting materials.
But while we are celebrating the opportunities that this state-of-the-art complex makes possible, it’s also a tough time for science.
Billions in cuts to critical federal research dollars and countless frozen government-backed projects threaten America’s standing as a global leader in innovation. In a recent survey from Nature, 75% of 1,600 participating scientists said they were looking for jobs elsewhere, mostly in Canada and Europe, where governments have set up appealing incentives to tap into the potential of our home-grown talent.
With the national research landscape changing significantly, we still have the chance to shore up science in our state. By bringing public and private resources together — as we have in the Crocker Science Complex — we can continue to invest in scientific innovation leading to commercialization, job creation and ultimately economic stability for thousands of Utahns and their families. The resulting prosperity enables future public and private investment, fueling a cycle benefiting the citizens of Utah many times over.
This is at the heart of the Utah Way. As a state, we rank first in the nation for innovation capacity, according to the latest Innovation Intelligence Index. The state’s strong industry associations, entrepreneurial spirit and human capital development — especially through our outstanding higher educational institutions — result in strong innovation ecosystems, according to the Kem C. Gardner Institute.
Our state has always bet on its people. A true inflection point for science came in 1946 when renowned scientist and educator Henry Eyring relocated from Princeton to the U. He set us on a trajectory of excellence that is still accelerating today. In more recent times, the visionary Engineering and Computer Science Initiative, launched in 2001, doubled the number of engineering and computer science graduates emerging from Utah’s colleges and universities over the past two decades. Two years ago, based on this model, the legislature funded a Life Sciences Initiative to meet the needs of one of the state’s fastest growing industries.
Even with the most state-of-the-art learning spaces, a building is only as good as what’s happening inside it. We must continue to fund scientific research and education to advance solutions on the most pressing problems facing us today and to ensure a prosperous future for generations of Utahns to come. Where others see crisis, Utah seizes opportunity. The opening of the Crocker Science Complex is only the latest powerful and inspirational example.