Brasfield & Gorrie Completes Construction of Auburn University’s MRI Research Center
August 8, 2012
The research center houses two of the most powerful MRI scanners in the world.
BIRMINGHAM, Al. (August 8, 2012) – Brasfield & Gorrie has completed construction management services for Auburn University’s Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Research Center. The university, along with the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, recently dedicated the new center located in the campus’ Research Park.
“Building a medical and research center with world-class technologies strongly aligns with our goal of advancing healthcare platforms across the construction industry,” said Steve Haney, Vice President and Preconstruction Director. “We take pride in knowing that the new center will allow Auburn University to collaborate with neighboring universities as they collectively help health professionals become more familiar with equipment that could ultimately improve healthcare outcomes.”
“The MRI Research Center brings together Auburn University’s expertise in engineering, science, pharmaceutics, agriculture, veterinary medicine, and business with Siemens’ expertise in magnetic resonance imaging as one of the world’s largest suppliers to the health care industry,” said Tom Denney, the center’s director and the Ed and Peggy Reynolds Family Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, in a recent Auburn University College of Engineering article. “We’re conducting research that focuses on cardiovascular and brain imaging as well as advancing MRI technology.”
The three-story, 45,000 sq ft facility houses two of the most powerful MRI scanners in the world, a 3T MRI scanner for clinical and research use as well as a whole-body 7T MRI scanner for research. Auburn University researchers and their collaborators began using the 7T scanner in July 2012 for research in areas such as brain function, metabolic imaging, pharmaceuticals, diabetes, and heart disease. The facility also features a wet laboratory, a coil design laboratory, and the MRI Educational Training Center.
While collaborating with Auburn University on the facility, Brasfield & Gorrie also worked closely with project architect Perkins+Will and Siemens Healthcare, provider of the MRI technology.
Brasfield & Gorrie and Auburn University have a long history of working together. In 2006, Brasfield & Gorrie successfully completed construction of the Auburn University Building Science M. Miller Gorrie Center, named after the firm’s founder. The 35,500 sq ft facility is LEED Gold certified according to the United States Green Building Council and was the first building in Alabama to achieve that level of certification. In addition, in 2008 Brasfield & Gorrie constructed the 185,000 sq ft, three-story Auburn University Student Center, which houses dining hall areas, lounge space for students, and student organization offices.
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About Brasfield & Gorrie
Brasfield & Gorrie is one of the nation’s largest privately held construction firms, providing general contracting, design-build, and construction management services for a wide variety of markets, including healthcare, commercial, institutional, federal, municipal, industrial, and wastewater treatment. We serve clients from offices in Atlanta and Columbus, Georgia; Birmingham, Alabama; Dallas, Texas; Jacksonville and Orlando, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; and Raleigh, North Carolina. Brasfield & Gorrie has approximately 2,400 employees, and its 2011 revenues were $1.7 billion. Engineering News-Record ranks Brasfield & Gorrie 32nd among the nation’s “Top 400 Contractors” for 2012.