DRI and UNR facilities cement partnership and provide a venue for leading edge environmental research

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, Aug 24, 2009

RENO —U.S. Senator Harry Reid and State Senator Bill Raggio will dedicate the new DRI Computational Research and Visualization Building (CRVB) and the University of Nevada, Reno Great Basin Science Sample and Records Library.

The event will begin at 10:15 a.m., in the DRI CRVB parking lot, 2215 Raggio Parkway. (Public parking will be available on DRI’s north parking lot off Dandini. A special announcement from NV Energy will also be a part of the dedication.

“Research is a venture into the unknown,” said Dr. Stephen Wells, DRI President. “It includes reading the past to understand the present and preparing for the future. DRI has built the foundation for its future with the addition of these new research buildings.”

DRI just completed the new $26 million CRVB at its Northern Nevada Science Center in Reno that houses the Center for Advanced Visualization, Computing, and Modeling (CAVCaM). The CRVB is DRI’s first building to fully embrace the principles of sustainable design. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and is widely recognized as an objective measure of a building’s adherence to sustainable design principles.

This state-of-the-art building features the first six-sided CAVE™ in the Western U.S. The CAVE is a virtual reality display that allows users to move physically into and interact with a simulated, recreated, imagined or altered world. The CAVE will be used for computational research programs, such as modeling and simulation based research. In addition, the facility houses a six-sided stereo projection system that provides DRI and Nevada with a unique simulation technology that benefits state, national, and international researchers; federal and state agencies (including the military); and the general public.

UNR’s Great Basin Science Sample and Records Library is the new home of the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology’s (NBMG) Publication Sales and Information offices. The new building also houses the office of the Geological Society of Nevada as well as publications of the Nevada Petroleum Society. The new, two-story, 10,000-square-foot library is at the main entrance of DRI’s Research campus.

“The partnership with DRI is a great one,” said Jon Price. “Its scientists do a lot of environmental geoscience research and the Great Basin Science Sample and Records Library can complement that research by providing space for DRI research collections and by providing access to databases and practically irreplaceable sample collections.”

NBMG scientists conduct research and publish reports on mineral resources, engineering geology, environmental geology, hydrogeology, and geologic mapping. Individuals interested in Nevada geology are encouraged to visit the bureau’s Web site: http://www.nbmg.unr.edu

Event Information:
WHAT: Building Dedication and Tour
WHEN: Thursday, Aug. 27
TIME: 10:15 a.m.
WHERE: DRI South Parking Lot, 2215 Raggio Parkway

NV Energy Senior Vice President Jeff Ceccarelli, DRI President Dr. Stephen Wells, State Senator William Raggio, U.S. Senator Harry Reid, and Chairman of the Board of Regents James Dean Leavitt.