The National Institute of Standards and Technology has granted Georgetown University $6.9 million in stimulus money for the construction of the science building and scientific research, its largest award through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to date.

In an e-mail to the Voice, Associate Dean of the College Ali Whitmer said that construction of the Science Center, which was put on hold until Georgetown could secure enough funding, can now begin in earnest this semester. Some below-ground work had already taken place this fall.

The grant is less than the $15 million Georgetown asked for in its grant proposal in early August, but Whitmer points out that it is not unusual for agencies to grant less than was requested of them.

Georgetown was required to submit both a construction and research element as part of its grant proposal to the NIST, Scott Fleming, the Associate Vice President for Federal Relations, told the Voice in November, so part of the $6.9 million will go toward the creation of the Institute for Soft Matter Synthesis and Metrology in addition to construction.

Photo from Georgetown.edu

The current science center

The federal government has not yet denied or approved Georgetown University’s $15 million request for stimulus money to fund construction of the science center, but Ali Whitmer, a dean in the College, said that the outlook is good.

Having submitted the request to the National Institute of Standards and Technology in early August, the University was contacted by NIST earlier this month with a list of clarification questions about their original proposal.

“While there was not any particular indication that we would be getting funding, that’s generally a good sign that we’ve made something of a shortlist,” she said.

Whitmer said that NIST would make its decision sometime in December. She did not have information on requests Georgetown had made of other institutions for construction funding.

Earlier this month, University Spokesperson Julie Green Bataille said that Georgetown was ready to begin construction on the science building as soon as it had secured enough funding.

“We are doing everything we can outside of putting shovels in the ground … to make sure that when we can secure financing, we’re ready to go,” she said.

Scott Fleming, the Associate Vice President for Federal Relations, said that in order for Georgetown to receive funding for construction of the science center, NIST must also approve the “science element” of the University’s proposal, which NIST required it to submit. The proposed institute, called the Institute for Soft Matter Synthesis and Metrology, would mostly support research in physics and chemistry.

The total amount of stimulus funding Georgetown has received, and what for, after the jump!

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