The University of New Brunswick opened the doors of the new Kinesiology Building on our Fredericton campus in early August.
This 60,000-sq. ft., $36-million building will create a nationally significant research cluster focused on health, wellness, physical fitness and health promotion that will establish New Brunswick as a leader in preventative healthcare.
“In addition to the many initiatives and programs at UNB focused on preventative healthcare, this expansion has further positioned us to be a wellness leader in our region,” said Dr. Eddy Campbell, UNB’s president and vice-chancellor. “This renewed space has become the new home for our growing faculty of kinesiology, which is one of the best in the country.”
The growing cost of treating chronic illnesses is driving the demand for more applied research in preventative and rehabilitative care.
Along with advancements in research and education the new building will bring, it also has a number of unique features.
Trees from the project site were harvested into a seating area, teaching podium, reception desk and locker room benches for use inside the building; chairs from the seating area of “The Pit” in the Lady Beaverbrook Gym have been refurbished; a living wall and a vegetative roof bring life to the indoors and outdoors, and recycled rain water is used throughout the building.
A 50-year time capsule was placed in the building’s cornerstone, containing dozens of items such as a handcrafted pencil from a former kinesiology dean, a Fitbit, the UCard of UNB’s 2017 Student Union president, and a 3D printed whistle created by an engineering student.
The project was made possible thanks to support from alumni and friends and a $24.87-million investment from the Government of Canada and the Province of New Brunswick.
Federal funding has been allocated through the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund, a program that will provide up to $2 billion to enhance and modernize research facilities on Canadian campuses and improve the environmental sustainability of these facilities.
A multi-research greenhouse is ready to become the cream of the crop now that it is completed on our Saint John campus.
The existing greenhouse had reached the end of its structural life, and the university was studying options to renovate or replace it.
This new greenhouse will allow UNB to conduct research to the benefit of students, researchers and industries such as aquaculture, healthcare and pharmaceutical development.
A research leader in potential medicinal compounds in wild plants, UNB research is supporting the development of new plant-based medicines, including compounds that have the potential to cure life-threatening diseases such as cancer.
This $1.3 million replacement project allowed for the demolition of an outdated facility and eliminated significant levels in accumulated deferred maintenance and will improve the environmental footprint of the Saint John campus by reducing energy consumption and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Of the $811,000 in funding invested, $586,000 is federal and $225,000 is provincial. This is an additional project that has received federal funding through the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund.
UNB’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering will expand this year with the creation of a new centre thanks to approximately $5 million dollars in investments from the Government of New Brunswick, from The Canada Foundation for Innovation and from Bob (BScCE ’61, MScCE ’63) and Barbara Pickett.
Funding will go toward the construction of a specialized rehabilitation research space and the purchase of state-of-the-art rehabilitation equipment.
“The Institute of Biomedical Engineering at UNB has been building and expanding its research capacity through close collaborations with partners throughout the world,” said Dr. Eddy Campbell.
“Through these partnerships, and with support from the Province of New Brunswick, our researchers will be able to address some of the most important challenges facing neurorehabilitation in Canada and beyond.”
The Institute of Biomedical Engineering is world-renowned for its multi-disciplinary research unit. Since 1965, the Institute has furthered biomedical engineering education, research and community service.
