Case Western Reserve University Engineers a New Scientific Future

This article was published through an exclusive content-sharing agreement with neo-trans.blog.

Wednesday was the ribbon cutting ceremony. Yesterday was the media tours. Today the future starts for Case Western Reserve University’s (CWRU) new Roger E. Susi Interdisciplinary Research Building, 10900 Euclid Ave., in Cleveland’s University Circle.

And the interdisciplinary science and engineering building, with some final touches of construction work being done over the next month, is called the Susi building thanks to a $50 million gift that was publicly announced yesterday.

Susi, a 1977 CWRU graduate who became an entrepreneur and founder of medical startups, made his way as a self-proclaimed tinkerer. His work eventually led to the world’s first successful vital-signs-monitoring device for MRI patients.

His current company, Iradimed, was named one of the nation’s top 100 small companies by Forbes in 2023, and is known for its MRI infusion pump. It’s the kind of work the university hopes to see more of as a result of this new, $300 million building.

“It starts with the open structure and just bumping into people,” Susi said of the new building and its layout. “Then you go upstairs into these malleable labs. These collaborations should result in great research outcomes.”

Construction started on the 189,000-square-foot Susi building in early 2024 following the demolition of Yost Hall on Case Quad. From that university commons side of the structure, it stands three stories tall. From the Martin Luther King Jr. side, it’s five stories tall due to the natural topography.

From both sides, the structure features lots of a glass — inside and out. The exterior bird-safe glass is intended to create a public presence and let in natural light. The interior glass is to promote interaction and curiosity and collaboration. Minnesota-based architectural firm HGA was the project’s lead designer.

“Roger and (his wife) Kayoko (Susi) were among the first to support this building and to fully embrace our vision for its mission and impact on our research enterprise,” said CWRU President Eric Kaler.

“Their gift is truly transformational — for the Susi Interdisciplinary Research Building, for the researchers and students working in the Susi Building labs, and, importantly, for the life-changing outcomes made possible by the innovation and discovery that will occur here,” he added.

Philanthropic support was instrumental in bringing the $300 million project to life, with donors giving a total $165 million and the rest matched by the university’s century bond program. That includes a $15 million gift made just last month by The Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation.

The Susi Building houses wet labs, dry labs and a core lab. There are open areas — including the Tinkham Veale Gateway and The Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation Terrace — building collaboration into its structure.

Researchers will be advancing interdisciplinary work in seven unique areas known as research clusters. Those are the James M. Galm, PhD, PE Electrochemical Engineering & Energy Science, advanced materials and manufacturing, molecular therapeutics, precision diagnostics and therapeutics, neurotechnology, neurorobotics, plus climate and ecosystem science.

Those studies were scattered at different locations throughout the CWRU campus. Now they and 300 researchers — faculty, students and research teams — will be united under one roof starting this December.

The new building and its researchers will also be among the key players in putting to work an historic $160 million National Science Foundation grant awarded in July to a Northeast Ohio coalition led by CWRU.

The coalition, the NSF NEO-SMART Engine in Northeast Ohio was rewarded for its Regional Innovation Engines program. NEO-SMART stands for Northeast Ohio Strengthening Manufacturing for American Resilience through Technology.

Kaler said the new facility will help CWRU land additional grants, including for the boldest fundraising campaign in the university’s 200-year history. Called Breakthrough Point, CWRU is seeking to raise $2.5 billion in the coming years to turn more ideas into impact.

“The timing of this campaign is intentional,” Kaler said. “It capitalizes on our remarkable momentum and will accelerate our growth and impact as one of the country’s leading research institutions.”

“Our $2.5 billion goal is ambitious,” he acknowledged. “And we are primed to achieve it, driven by our 200-year history of a bias for action and fueled by a collaborative university community that is innovative, future-focused and results-driven.”

NEOtrans was first to report in 2022 that CWRU was moving forward with constructing a new interdisciplinary science and engineering building. It was included in the university’s 2018 campus masterplan but construction was delayed slightly by the pandemic.

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