The construction of the Integrated Research and Innovation Center will commence at 10:30 a.m. Friday with an official groundbreaking ceremony featuring University of Idaho President Chuck Staben. 
The IRIC marks the first time UI has broken ground on the Moscow campus for a research facility since the Biotech building in 2001.
Upon completion, the IRIC will host selected researchers of varying disciplines to work on high level, multi-year projects.
At the head of this new development is UI Vice President for Research and Economic Development Jack McIver, who said he appreciates the cross-disciplinarian approach to research that this facility will uphold.
“The IRIC will create opportunities to integrate student and faculty members from diverse disciplines so that they can create innovative solutions to the complex problems facing Idaho, the region and the world,” McIver said. “The possibilities are unlimited, and the results will undoubtedly surprise us.”
The IRIC building, which will be constructed between Brink Hall and the College of Natural Resources Building adjacent to Line Street, will provide 69,000 square feet of additional technologically advanced research space to the UI campus. McIver said the IRIC will not only feature labs that support studies produced across a range of disciplines, but also state of the art conference and visualization rooms among several other flexible facilities to be utilized by select researchers for decades to come.
Space in the IRIC building will be allocated as per a meritorious system that rewards exceptional faculty members, graduate students and post-doctoral candidates who are leading particularly impactful integrated research projects.
McIver said that they seek to improve the overall UI experience for all affiliated with the university. He said the completed IRIC building will enhance research possibilities for the university with the addition of more physical room for research and advances in technological capabilities.
He also said the IRIC will attract and retain faculty and graduate students of astute mind and qualified merit in their field, and create a more prominent environment of interdisciplinary research among the varied colleges of UI.
McIver said university bonds will cover most of the estimated $49 million cost of the IRIC project, with about $5 million covered by state and university appropriations. He said construction on the building should be completed in approximately two years.
Constructing the IRIC represents the signature endeavor of the ongoing campaign, “Inspiring Futures: Invest in the University of Idaho,” a $225 million UI initiative that aims to increase private investments to support UI students, faculty, programs, and facilities.
McIver said Inspiring Futures follows a record-high established by UI in 2013 of almost $95 million spent on research expenditures. UI set a precedent for funding research in 2012, with the university generating approximately 66 percent of all research dollars spent by public universities within the state of Idaho. McIver doesn’t foresee this level of support for research wavering any time soon,
“Our robust research enterprise has never been stronger,” McIver said. “We plan to build on this momentum by significantly increasing our competitive research funding to $150 million by 2020.”
McIver said the IRIC building will only further UI’s instrumental success in modern research capabilities.
George Wood Jr.can be reached at [email protected]