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The 84,000-square-foot building will provide a place for researchers of differing fields in agriculture to work together to find innovative answers to today?s problems. The dedication ceremony featured remarks from Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, Bill Latham and various university administrators.
The building was named and dedicated in honor of William and Elizabeth Latham of Haymarket, Va., who provided a $5 million donation in April to establish an endowed fund to support academic research in the field of life science. The $28 million facility houses state-of-the-art laboratories for both colleges in the seven core areas of biodesign, bioprocessing, fisheries, wildlife and geography, forestry and water, infectious diseases, plant pathogen-environment interactions and soils.
The College of Agriculture and Life Science has been planning for this new facility for the last 25 years. Located on campus between Smyth and Cheatham halls, this facility will provide a place for graduate students and professors to collaborate with one another in a way they had not previously known. ?Latham Hall provides our researchers a home to foster multi-disciplinary collaboration and partnerships that will bridge many sectors of science and help actively engage our faculty to find research-based solutions to today?s problems,? said Charles W. Steger, president of Virginia Tech.
According to the College of Agriculture and Life Science, approximately 75 percent of the five-floor structure provides laboratory space for the fields of crop and soil environmental science, entomology, plant pathology, physiology, weed science and horticulture. The remaining 25 percent of laboratory space will be used for the College of Natural Resources to research in the fields of forestry, fisheries and wildlife sciences.
?We have an excellent system of higher education in Virginia, nowhere is that more true than at Virginia Tech,? Bolling said. ?As the home of researchers for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Natural Resources, the Latham building will play a very important role in the future of Virginia Tech and the expansion of agribusiness in Virginia.?
Work in groundbreaking research has already begun at Latham. Researchers are currently trying to develop new techniques to enhance opportunities for bio-renewable energy in the biofuels lab. Others are trying to develop a selective insecticide that is safe for humans, that is affordable to developing countries, and that can be ultimately used on bed nets to protect against mosquitoes.
These are just two of the many studies taking place in the new facility that will ultimately impact problems throughout our world.
?We?ve had a wonderful experience with this school. The collaboration and research going on here is wonderful ? that?s what it?s all about,? Bill Latham said. ?I hope this gift will encourage others to support Virginia Tech in whatever way possible. It doesn?t always have to be a big gift to make a difference.?
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