UM Board of Curators discuss new engineering building and research reactor

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

On Thursday, the University of Missouri Board of Curators met to discuss improvements to the university's campus, including a larger engineering and applied sciences building.

According to the university, over the next five years, it expects to bring in 100 new faculty, and undergraduate and graduate students to the College of Engineering and the College of Arts and Science.

In order to support the school's research and education mission, it plans to build a larger building for research purposes.

The building will consist of approximately 125,000 to 150,000 square feet of wet and dry laboratory research space, support functions and collaboration spaces.

The facility will be located north of Lafferre Hall on Sixth Street. This is where the three former buildings Parker Hall, Noyes Hall and the old Student Health Building were located before the university tore them down as part of its strategic space reduction initiative.

The university is still seeking the approval of an engineer before construction of the building can begin, but it is expected that it will be completed by November of 2026.

It will cost the university $150 million to construct it.

The board will also discuss the possibility of a new research reactor to replace its current reactor, which has been in use for more than half a century. According to the university, its current reactor is the highest-powered reactor in the country.

However, a new one could lead to breakthroughs in radiotherapy for various cancers. These include melanoma, prostate, breast, ovarian and pancreatic cancers.

That project will cost the university $1 billion and will take eight to 10 years to be completed.

The meeting occurred at the Havener Center at 8 a.m.