CAER breaks ground on research and education center
The Center for Advanced Engineering and Research (CAER) will break ground on its new research and education center on Friday, November 6 at 9:30 a.m. at the New London Business and Technology Center in Bedford, Virginia.
Funding for the 25,000 square foot research center was provided through a $7.6 million economic development grant from the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission. Bedford County provided the land and helped to underwrite some of land planning costs and site preparation at the 500-acre business park. The park is located just off of Rt. 460 West in eastern Bedford County.
“Bedford County has a proactive approach to economic development and the New London Business and Technology Center provides an optimum location for continued growth,” says Bedford County Administrator Kathleen Guzi. “The CAER represents just the type of innovation envisioned for the park and we anticipate great things from the facility and future tenants.”
The CAER provides a central point for applied research, product development, commercialization, and professional training, in collaboration with local companies, research universities, federal laboratories and other partners.
“The CAER has been instrumental in arranging partnerships in our community that lead directly to new jobs,” says Jim Hicks, VP Business Development at AREVA NP and Chairman of the CAER Board. “It is uniquely positioned to understand the capabilities of the university community and to match those with the needs of local industry.”
According to Bob Bailey, executive director for the CAER, research at the facility will be focused in four major areas that are complimentary to the region’s key industries.
The Center for Safe and Secure Nuclear Energy, one of the four research areas, will feature a fully configurable nuclear power plant control room simulator that will provide invaluable technical input for regulatory guidance in such areas as control room design, digital technologies and human performance measures. The cognitive radio and sensor technology research areas will meet the needs of the wireless industry, while the final focus area will be in inspection, testing and analysis technologies to enhance the continued safe operation and maintenance of the nation’s nuclear power infrastructure.
The CAER, which already has established several partnerships between local companies, local and state universities, and federal R&D labs, plans to attract up to $5-10 million in research contracts and grant awards within the first five years of operation.
Several local companies were involved in providing input to the planning and design of the CAER facility. Lynchburg-based C.L. Lewis & Company, Inc. was selected to construct the unique facility, set be complete at the close of 2010. The building design was completed by Wiley|Wilson, which successfully delivered a design capable of receiving a specific LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Rating for sustainability. Other members of the design team that worked with the CAER and Bedford County in the planning and design of the facility were Hurt & Proffitt, a Lynchburg-based civil engineering and surveying firm and Land Planning and Design Associates, Inc., a Charlottesville-based firm that managed the land planning and design.
Wiley|Wilson produced a facility design that features a “science made visible” theme throughout, meaning that visitors will be able to clearly see the research and technology that is unique to Region 2000, simply by walking through the building.
The two-story CAER facility will be located on a 6-1/2 acre parcel in the New London Business and Technology Center that will feature up to 18 lots in total. In addition to the research labs within the building, the CAER facility will also feature a 100-foot antenna tower to be used for wireless communication testing on behalf of companies.
A three-minute virtual tour of the planned facility can be viewed on YouTube here
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About the CAER:
The Center for Advanced Engineering and Research is a non-profit organization that creates working relationships between high-tech industries, major R&D centers and university researchers, and facilitates professional development opportunities for scientists and engineers in the region. The CAER is a member of Virginia’s Region 2000 Partnership.