'Topping-Out' Milestone at Center for Functional Nanomaterials

March 24, 2006

Construction workers bolted in the final steel beam for Brookhaven National Laboratory's Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) on Friday, March 24, 2006. The occasion, known as a "topping out" in the construction industry, was celebrated by representatives of the Lab; general contractor E.W. Howell Co., Inc.; and architectural and engineering firm HDR Architecture, Inc.

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Gathered in front of the steel framework for the Center for Functional Nanomaterials are (from left): Harry Hanson, E.W. Howell; Matt Williams, Williams Steel; Kevin McKenna, E.W. Howell;, Ove Dyling, Brookhaven; Paul O'Rourke, E.W. Howell; Doon Gibbs, Brookhaven; Ahmad Soueid, HDR; Michael Schaeffer, Brookhaven; Evelyn Landini, Brookhaven Site Office of the U.S. Department of Energy, which is funding the project; and Martin Fallier, Brookhaven. (Click on image to download high-resolution version.)

Construction started September 13, 2005, on the 94,500-square-foot facility, and steel erection began on January 21, 2006. With top off on March 24, the construction project took an important step forward. Gibbs, Brookhaven's Associate Director for Basic Energy Sciences, noted the project's good safety record and that the steel work was done about two weeks ahead of schedule.

The CFN will provide researchers with advanced probes and the ability to use new fabrication techniques to study materials at nanoscale dimensions - typically, billionths of a meter, or 1,000 times smaller than a human hair. These materials have different chemical and physical properties than bulk materials and could form the basis of new technologies.

2006-10454  |  INT/EXT  |  Newsroom