Centerpiece CRC building to be called Greenberg Building

The Collaborative Research Center’s newly opened seven-story “bridging” building, designed to link Smith and Flexner Halls and house meeting rooms and informal spaces for collaboration, has been named in honor of Rockefeller University Emeritus Trustee Maurice Greenberg and his wife, Corinne.

The Greenbergs have a long history of supporting the university, both personally and through The Starr Foundation, which Mr. Greenberg chairs. The Starr Foundation donated $50 million to support collaborative science at Rockefeller, including the construction of the new building and the accompanying extensive renovations of Smith and Flexner Halls. The bridging building will be officially known as the Maurice R. and Corinne P. Greenberg Building.

With approximately 180 people now occupying the newly renovated space in Smith, and the Greenberg building buzzing with activity, the Collaborative Research Center is now fully open and operational. The first lab to make the move, Robert Darnell’s, arrived on the third floor of Smith just before the July 4 holiday. Over the summer, 10 additional labs made the move, as well as the Spectroscopy Resource Center, the central glasswashing facility and Lab Safety’s waste handling function. Three more labs will move in within the next few months, including new faculty member Gaby Maimon (see story, below) in January and new president Marc Tessier-Lavigne in March.

“We’re pleased to say that the first phase of the CRC project was completed on time and well under budget,” Paul Nurse, the university’s president, said at the building’s dedication ceremony, held November 12. “The scientists who have moved in are reporting that the laboratories are functioning well and they are benefiting from the open design of the Greenberg building, which allows them to easily interact with other scientists.” The November 12 dedication was attended by approximately 200 people, including university trustees and major benefactors to Rockefeller’s Campaign for Collaborative Science.

The new CRC coffee cart on the A level is also open, serving a selection of snacks, sandwiches, salads and hot and cold beverages from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and meeting rooms are available for booking in the university’s room reservation system.