Topping Off
Innovation Research Park @ ODU reached an important construction milestone on June 28th with its official "Topping Off."
At a ceremony attended by over 100 guests, including state economic development officials, local Hampton Roads business leaders, and future tenants and prospects, Old Dominion University President, Roseann Runte and Virginia Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Trade, Vivek Kundra, officially celebrated the completion of the first building's steel skeleton. Guests signed a ceremonial last steel beam and viewed the substantial construction progress already achieved. The building is on schedule for its April 2007 grand opening.
Assistant Secretary Kundra discussed the importance of Innovation Research Park @ ODU to research and technology led economic development in the Commonwealth. Innovation Research Park @ ODU will be one of the only buildings with flexible wet/dry lab space available in the entire state.
President Runte spoke of the research park's important role in bringing together ODU researchers and students with private-sector companies to pursue research, technology development and business-creation opportunities on a scale never before possible.
President Runte also highlighted the ODU tenants that will occupy the first building:
- Lean Manufacturer
- Computational Intelligence and Machine Vision Laboratory
- National Center for Systems of Systems Engineering
- Virginia Applied Technology and Professional Development Center
- Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport
- Center for Coastal and Physical Oceanography
- Center for Advanced Ship Repair and Maintenance
- Office of Spatial and Cartographic
