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Set to redefine possibilities of collaborative research, new building comes into focus

By Daniel Robison

Kathryn A. Daltorio, PhD, has a menagerie of different shaped robots—a crab-like robot, another like a moth, and many like worms.

Her team at Case Western Reserve University’s Biologically Inspired Robotics Lab researches how machines can mimic animals in performing difficult and dangerous tasks, such as detecting unexploded ordinances or installing power lines underground to improve the country’s electric grid.

To test their designs in environments mimicking natural settings, they use literal sandboxes. As a place to experiment and explore new ideas, a sandbox is also an apt metaphor for the university’s new Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building (ISEB). 

365betÌåÓýÔÚÏßÊÀ½ç±­ 189,000 square feet, the ISEB is being designed with flexible features—including modular labs and adjustable spaces—to promote interdisciplinary collaboration and transform research capabilities at the institution.  

“While it will be a finite space, the things we’ll be able to do there are almost infinite,� said Daltorio (CWR �05; GRS �07, �13, mechanical engineering), an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering in the Case School of Engineering. “No one wants to work alone, so more progress will be possible in collaborative spaces that promote us being teammates.�

Crafting collaboration

Dismantling and partial recycling of Yost Hall—located on Case Quad and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard—began this spring, paving the way for a summer start to the ISEB’s construction.

While the ISEB is scheduled to open in fall 2026, important and pivotal work is taking place right now. 

Faculty, postdocs and research staff in engineering and the sciences who are likely to work in the building have been organized into eight research “clustersâ€� that are areas of strength and investment for Case Western Reserve. Already, these groups are working together on decisions to ensure the ISEB’s infrastructure will meet the unique needs of an array of scientific disciplines. 

They’re also getting a jumpstart on imagining how the ISEB will foster new partnerships and projects. 

“We are focused on creating fun and lively spaces,� said Daltorio, who is leading a cluster on neurorobotics. “We want to be a place where everyone on our research teams—the established professor, postdoc, graduate student or undergrad—feels like they can pursue their work and answer important questions.�

A cluster in precision diagnostics and therapies is focused on finding new molecules or viral vectors to address diseases and disorders in new ways. 

A research group associated with the university’s Human Fusions Institute will continue its work studying the convergence of human biology and robotic technology in the development of prosthetics and neural interfaces.

Other clusters focus on a wide range of research—including artificial intelligence, advanced materials and sustainable manufacturing, light science therapeutics and others. 

“To achieve our goal of leading in research, it’s essential that we collaborate across all fields, including engineering, medicine, biomedicine and beyond,â€� said Michael Oakes, PhD, senior vice president for research at Case Western Reserve. 

While these faculty groups are helpful for planning as the ISEB comes together, they also are likely to change shape before and after the building opens.

“No one is expected to strictly be in a cluster—that would be the opposite point of the building,â€� said Oakes. “In the past, you’d see cartoon characters of scientists in white lab coats working by themselves with test tubes; that era has long gone. Now it’s a different world, and we are proud to be a part of that change.â€� 

Breaking ground

The projected cost of the five-story building is $300 million. Half of the project’s overall expense is being covered by $150 million from a century bond the university issued last year, with the remainder to be funded through donor support.

Philanthropic naming opportunities “will play a pivotal role in shaping the possibilities of the building,� said Oakes, “by providing critical support for facilities and equipment.�

As dedicated research space for the College of Arts and Sciences, Case School of Engineering and selected other departments, the building will accommodate more than 60 faculty members and their teams—including around 20 new faculty hired to bolster the university’s strengths in cluster-related research areas—with a total occupancy of around 500 researchers. 

Featuring movable glass walls, areas for quiet conversations and a ground-level café, the ISEB’s design is intended to facilitate chance encounters and group discussions. 

It’s also intended to propel the university’s research portfolio forward. 365betÌåÓýÔÚÏßÊÀ½ç±­ $552 million in research expenditures in fiscal year 2023, the institution is already well on its way toward the $600 million goal CWRU President Eric W. Kaler, PhD, set for Oakes upon his arrival in 2022.

“The project will be a living example of the university’s commitment to research initiatives that result in significant scientific breakthroughs,� said Oakes, “and have profound economic implications for our region and beyond.�

Designing for discovery

Environmental microbiologist Sarah Bagby, PhD, is leading the ISEB’s ecology and climate cluster. 

The research group aims to provide insights into how organisms and ecosystems respond to climate change and how those responses should shape human strategies for managing the multi-pronged crisis. Their studies span various scales, from molecular interactions to atmospheric dynamics.

“It’s become increasingly clear that understanding climate and ecosystem science demands multidisciplinary teams, with varied methodologies, for a comprehensive understanding of feedback processes that connect biological, chemical, geological, and atmospheric change,� said Bagby, assistant professor of biology. “We make more progress faster when we lower the barrier to working across traditional disciplinary boundaries.�

Bagby and other cluster leads are meeting with the ISEB’s architects to discuss lab build-outs that meet researchersâ€� functional needs—including key decisions on investing in new scientific equipment and instruments.  

Faculty members are also offering guidance on adequate environmental controls that will reduce the risk of cross-contamination between research areas. 

“It’s really important that we plan now to make sure that this building is realizing its potential as soon as possible,â€� said Bagby. “We’re eager to work together—but that means coordinating so that we’re not always working right next to each other, because some of our methods can contaminate others. So often we’ll need to plan together, run experiments in parallel, and come together again to put the puzzle pieces together.â€� 

She added, “A lab that lets our students cross-train in these different approaches is going to set up the next generation to start collaborating in new ways, right from the start of their careers.�

Forging new frontiers

Faculty and researchers in an electrochemistry cluster are researching sustainably focused processes, including metal production and developing energy-dense batteries for transportation and energy storage. 

Researchers focus on nano-material fabrication and manufacturing, aiming to reduce power consumption and promote environmental stewardship. These projects have practical applications and potential for commercialization, linking academic research with real-world impact.

For more than 50 years, Case Western Reserve has led the way in pioneering some of the most advanced and promising work in the field, according to Rohan Akolkar, PhD, the Milton and Tamar Maltz Professor of Energy Innovation and head of the electrochemistry cluster.

“We are leaders today because of strategic investments made half a century ago,� said Akolkar, director of the Electronics Design Center in the engineering school. “In the same way, the ISEB will help us maintain and improve our position as one of the country’s leading institutions in electrochemistry and other areas.�

With specialized tools and infrastructure impractical for individual labs, the ISEB will complement and build on research capabilities at Case Western Reserve—but will not necessarily replace current labs. 

In fact, the need to add capacity and efficiency to research efforts through the new building has been cited by university administration as key to strengthening the institution’s standing and keeping pace with investments by competitors.

“No matter the cluster, we are each in a special position to search for needed solutions to critical challenges,� Akolkar said. “We have a better chance when we work together—and the ISEB will make that much easier.�

Originally published in the summer 2024 issue of Forward Thinking magazine