Anonymous donors have committed $25 million to build a bold new hub of innovation and discovery at Vanderbilt University—a multipurpose science facility that will shape the future of research and education on campus and beyond.
Located on the site of the former Stevenson Center 6 building, this state-of-the-art facility will house faculty in the College of Arts and Science, the School of Engineering and the School of Medicine Basic Sciences. This interdisciplinary space will foster collaborations and power advances such as discovering drugs to treat and cure diseases, creating new diagnostics to improve health and medicine, advancing key technologies for quantum computing, and engineering new materials and biomedical devices.
Motivated by a deep belief in the power of science and interdisciplinary collaboration across schools, these donors are fueling the university’s mission and catalyzing groundbreaking scientific work through their gift. They hope that their lead investment will inspire the broader Vanderbilt community and other potential partners to support the crucial scientific research taking place on campus.
Fueling the Dare to Grow campaign
Their support propels the historic Dare to Grow campaign to new heights. With Dare to Grow set to conclude on June 30, 2026, this significant gift underscores the campaign’s unwavering momentum, which will continue to drive impact as the university looks to the future.
“We are deeply grateful to the donors for their conviction that world-class science demands forward-looking investment,” Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said. “Their support affirms our culture of radical collaboration and our belief that the greatest progress occurs when people and disciplines come together. This gift will advance our vital mission of transformative education and pathbreaking research and further strengthens Vanderbilt’s standing among the nation’s most important research institutions.”
A bold new home for scientific discovery
The new facility, slated to open at the end of 2028, will feature a concentration of advanced scientific infrastructure that has never before existed on Vanderbilt’s campus, providing an essential platform for breakthroughs with national and global implications.
“This facility represents the future of scientific discovery at Vanderbilt,” said C. Cybele Raver, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “It is a powerful expression of Discovery Vanderbilt and our strategy to elevate Vanderbilt’s research and innovation enterprise to even greater national and global prominence. By bringing together leading scholars across disciplines and providing the advanced infrastructure required for today’s most ambitious science, this facility will accelerate breakthrough discoveries, strengthen our competitiveness for major research investments and expand Vanderbilt’s impact on society. Investments like this are essential to our pursuit of research preeminence and to ensuring that Vanderbilt remains at the forefront of discovery, innovation and graduate education.”
Conceived as a dynamic, multipurpose research environment, the facility will provide an integrated setting for training emerging scientists, advancing research portfolios, and helping increase Vanderbilt’s advantage when competing for major federal and foundation grants.
Each floor will feature collaborative hubs including seminar spaces, informal gathering areas and huddle rooms. Offering panoramic views of campus, these hubs will encourage frequent interaction among researchers, students and partners. A 50-person multipurpose hall on the main level will host lectures, symposia and community events, while a dynamic exterior plaza will connect the building to nature, encouraging spontaneous connections and public engagement.
Strengthening collaboration across Vanderbilt
“This transformative gift provides critical support to this landmark facility,” said Tim McNamara, Searcy Family Dean of the College of Arts and Science. “This project will deepen collaboration and innovation across A&S, Engineering and Basic Sciences in ways that will change the trajectory of scientific research at Vanderbilt. This gift is a powerful testament to what our community can accomplish together. As I step down from my role as dean this summer, I look forward to seeing Jason Merchant, the incoming dean, build on this momentum that will benefit generations of students and scholars.”
“By bringing together leading scholars across disciplines and providing the advanced infrastructure required for today’s most ambitious science, this facility will accelerate breakthrough discoveries, strengthen our competitiveness for major research investments and expand Vanderbilt’s impact on society.”
Located at the heart of campus, the building will serve as a new gateway to Vanderbilt’s historic core and a visible symbol of the university’s commitment to both tradition and innovation, strengthening Vanderbilt’s national leadership in research and discovery.
“To stay at the forefront of discovery and innovation and attract and retain top talent, we must modernize our labs, design studios and collaborative hubs,” said Krish Roy, Bruce and Bridgitt Evans Dean of the School of Engineering. “This facility is a key part of that process and a cornerstone of the School of Engineering’s Power the Impossible campaign. It will give our scholars the tools and spaces they need to tackle some of society’s most complex challenges, from resilient infrastructure to emerging technologies, while providing students a truly cutting-edge learning environment.”
Designed for discovery and future needs
Designed by DLR Group, the building will span approximately 210,000 square feet across 10 stories, with eight floors above ground and two below. It will be home to approximately 50 principal investigators conducting research across a broad spectrum of disciplines, including chemical biology, bioengineering, bioanalytics, biochemistry, biophysics, biosynthesis, nanophotonics and quantum computing.
These scholars’ work will range from developing new therapies and treatments and creating advanced imaging and diagnostic tools, to engineering devices that strengthen energy resilience and building quantum and AI-enabled technologies that redefine how we process information and solve complex problems. The researchers conducting their work in this facility will also forge a stronger collaborative environment for computational partnerships with the College of Connected Computing, accelerating data-driven discovery across the university.
Flexible research spaces will adapt to evolving scientific needs, ensuring that Vanderbilt can pursue emerging opportunities and respond quickly to new discoveries and technologies. The new facility will feature cutting-edge wet lab space not currently available elsewhere on campus.
“This new science building will strengthen the interdisciplinary research that underlies major breakthroughs today,” said John Kuriyan, dean of the School of Medicine Basic Sciences. “The building will foster partnerships between biomedical scientists, physical scientists and engineers, and lead to exciting new discoveries. I look forward to the injection of new energy into our research enterprise that the building will provide.”
Dare to Grow
The donors’ visionary investment fuels the momentum of Vanderbilt’s Dare to Grow campaign. Support for the Dare to Grow campaign catalyzes some of the university’s most groundbreaking initiatives, including the Institute of National Security, Vandy United, Vanderbilt’s enhanced presences in New York City, San Francisco and West Palm Beach, and signature programs like Opportunity Vanderbilt, residential colleges and many more.