Inside ISEB
Research priorities that accentuate Case strengths will guide the university’s $300 million research flagship
By Robert L. Smith
With soaring walls of glass and masonry, the university’s emerging research flagship — the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building — cuts a dashing presence near the heart of Case Quad.
As work crews speed toward a fall finish, administrators are deciding how to populate the beckoning array of labs and resources that await inside. Their decisions will launch a new era of research and discovery at the Case School of Engineering and Case Western Reserve University.
Upon opening in October, ISEB will be the largest structure on the Quad and the largest university research building in the region. It will house nearly 190,000 square feet of wet labs, dry labs, offices and collaboration spaces spread across five floors.
A soaring atrium will both divide floors and diffuse them with natural light, creating an aura of openness and, it’s hoped, creativity and discovery.
“The building is magnificent — and far larger and more spacious than I initially imagined,” said Michael Oakes, CWRU’s executive vice president for research and economic development. “It’s a big place. It’s a helluva building.”
An interdisciplinary focus positions ISEB to solve complex problems that cut across traditional academic boundaries. To promote collaboration, the interior features lots of glass and transparency, huddle rooms and white boards, couches and coffee. There will be a Caribou Café. Designers are working from a $3 million art budget.
“This is a wonderful milestone for us in our year 200,” said Joy Ward, the university provost and executive vice president. “Space matters. We were in deep need of prime research space. This gives us high-quality, collaborative space for modern research.”
While there’s room for 70 principal investigators and their teams of five or six, that wave will not arrive all at once. Rather, lab teams will be assembled over many months and from across campus, Oakes and Ward say. Faculty and students will pursue research priorities shaped by federal grants — which have become more uncertain — as well as by the needs of society, and by Case expertise.
University leaders, with input from the deans of the Case School of Engineering, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the CWRU School of Medicine, have decided upon an overarching vision. ISEB will initially be divided into seven research areas, or clusters. At present these are:
Advanced Materials and Manufacturing—Floor 1
Electrochemistry—Floor 1
Precision Diagnostics and Therapeutics—Floor 2
Life Science Therapeutics—Floor 2
Neurorobotics—Floor 3
Neurotechnologies—Floor 3
Climate and Ecosystems—Floor 4
Each cluster has a leader who will drive the agenda. One of those leaders is Kathryn Daltorio ’05, MS ’07, PhD ’13, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. Her vision for the Neurorobotics Lab lends insight into how ISEB could quickly evolve.
A dynamic research space
Daltorio is co-director of the Biologically Inspired Robotics Lab in the Glennan Building. There, space is tight for her robots that can walk, crawl, swim and burrow to perform tasks.
On ISEB’s third floor, she and her colleagues will find a “robot playground” for romping and testing. There are smaller labs for specialized research, as well as faculty offices and desks for student researchers. The team also has access to a shared research core on the ground floor that includes a wave tank for her crab bots.
She’s anxious to move in. “I think it’s going to be exciting,” Daltorio said.
As of March, some 17 of her faculty colleagues were considering invitations to join the cluster. They represent mechanical engineering, biology, materials science and mathematics. There’s even a sociologist, Brian Gran, whom Daltorio expects to add keen insight.
“How do we make sure the robots we make are good for the public?” she asks. “This new building is a chance for us to be even better at societal impact, I’m hoping.”
While Daltorio expects to move her lab in Glennan to ISEB, she expects her teammates to come and go from a dynamic, evolving research space. Many will remain anchored to current labs, for any number of reasons, and use ISEB for testing and collaboration.
“The idea is for us to create a space for people of our cluster to test things and learn from each other and take ideas back to their own labs,” she said. “My goal is to give people access. I think it will be exciting to see how the space feels and how people use it.”
Amplifying Case strengths
In contrast to the young field of robotics, several clusters emphasize historic Case strengths, like electrochemistry and battery science, which will share the first floor with advanced materials and manufacturing.
On Floor 2, Precision Diagnostics and Therapeutics offers a good example of ISEB’s connection to CWRU’s innovation ecosystem. Biomedical engineers and medical faculty are expected to collaborate on medical devices that enhance and expand healthcare delivery. Their ideas could be prototyped at Sears think[box], just up the Quad, and perhaps lead to a company launched from the 11000 Cedar Startup Accelerator.
The Neurotechnologies cluster on Level 3 will be watched closely by university leaders. They envision a magnet that pulls together investigators from throughout University Circle, including the VA Medical Center, into teams that will advance smart prosthetics and other wonders of neural engineering.
STARTING LINEUP
The university will set priorities in ISEB with seven research themes, or clusters. Each cluster has a lead researcher to drive the agenda. Here is a glimpse at the clusters and the research leaders.
Bob Kirsh, former chair of Case’s vaunted Department of Biomedical Engineering, will lead the Neurotechnolgies team.
“This is a major strategic initiative for the university,” said Oakes, who noted the neighborhood is rich with neural engineering talent. “There’s a thousand flowers blooming. We’d like to put them in one garden.”
ISEB also includes specialized labs and collaboration spaces — one for artificial intelligence research and application and another for the humanities, the academic disciplines that study culture, history and language.
Ward thinks interaction between STEM scientists and humanists will help to bring new insights to bear on research decisions.
“It’s important to ask, ‘Just because we can do it, should we do it?’” she said.
The humanities space, to be called the Mandel Studio, was made possible by a $2 million grant from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Supporting Foundation.
FLOOR 4
Climate & Ecosystems
Scientists will study our changing climate and how ecosystems respond at fundamental levels, allowing society to better plan and react.
Case strength: The Department of Biology brings expertise in microbial ecosystems.
Lead: Sarah Bagby, Assistant Professor of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences
Michael Oakes, center, explains how the floor will look when finished as researchers imagine their labs.
Sarah Bagby will lead the Climate and Ecosystems cluster in the new research building.
FLOOR 3
Neurorobotics
Researchers from several disciplines, including engineering and sociology, will collaborate on robots that can aid people in their work and lives.
Case strength: The Biologically Inspired Robotics Lab of the Case School of Engineering lends this team a strong start.
Lead: Kathryn Daltorio ’05, MS ’07, PhD ’13, Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Neurotechnologies
Researchers from throughout University Circle, including the VA Medical Center, will explore brain-computer technology that can lead to smart prosthetics, restore motion, and enhance health.
Case strength: The Department of Biomedical Engineering pioneered many of the technologies to be advanced here.
Lead: Bob Kirsch, Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Michael Oakes, center, leads research faculty on a tour of ISEB and their future labs.
FLOOR 2
Precision Diagnostics and Therapeutics
Engineers and medical faculty will collaborate to pursue medical devices that enhance and expand healthcare delivery
Case strength: Devices envisioned here could be prototyped at Sears think[box].
Lead: Anirban Sen Gupta, Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Life Science Therapeutics
A place for drug discovery, researchers here will be pursuing cures for cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and other dreaded diseases.
Case strength: The university’s translational “bench to bedside” pipeline will help convert scientific discoveries into treatments, products and startups.
LeadDrew Adams, Associate Professor of Genetics and Genome Sciences, CWRU School of Medicine
Bright, spacious new labs will be equipped with stateof- the-art temperature and humidy controls.
FLOOR 1
Advanced Materials & Manufacturing
Faculty primarily from engineering and physics will collaborate to develop new materials and sustainable manufacturing processes.
Case strength: The university secured $1.75 million in the 2026 federal budget to equip this lab with advanced tools.
Lead:Christopher Wirth, Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Electrochemistry
An historic Case expertise will be amplified in a lab pursuing next generation battery technology and refinement of critical materials.
Case strength: Case is a leader in rechargeable flow batteries, a possible solution to green energy storage.
Lead: Rohan Akolkar, PhD ’05, Professor of Energy Innovation, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Leading faculty researchers line up for their tour of ISEB March 9.
OTHER LABS AND PLATFORMS
Research Cores
The Core Lab, on the ground floor, will house tools and machines shared by all. Think expensive microscopes, spectrometers and 3D printers — but also a water tank to test underwater robots.
Special feature: The equipment will be made available to industry partners, expanding ISEB’s regional economic impact.
Leader: Ina Martin, Director of Research Cores and Operations at CWRU
Artificial Intelligence Lab
This hive of artificial intelligence and machine learning expertise, located on Floor 2, is expected to develop and share AI tools that accelerate research.
An historic Case expertise will be amplified in a lab pursuing next generation battery technology and refinement of critical materials.
Case strength: Case is a leader in rechargeable flow batteries, a possible solution to green energy storage.
Lead: Rohan Akolkar, PhD ’05, Professor of Energy Innovation, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Humanities Suite
This collaborative space on Floor 2 will encourage partnerships between humanities and STEM specialists, helping to bring ethics, philosophy and historical context into research projects.
An historic Case expertise will be amplified in a lab pursuing next generation battery technology and refinement of critical materials.
Case strength: Case is a leader in rechargeable flow batteries, a possible solution to green energy storage.
Lead: Rohan Akolkar, PhD ’05, Professor of Energy Innovation, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
The funding challenge
When ISEB was announced in 2023, national leaders were describing university research as the lifeblood of American innovation. A “big grants-big projects” strategy made sense. Administrators hoped to attract $10 million+ grants from agencies like the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Energy to solve big, complex problems. Enter a new White House administration. Expectations for ongoing support for university research have been challenged. CWRU researchers are still attracting federal research grants, Oakes said, and money continues to flow for previously approved projects. But going forward, strong federal support is no longer a given.
“There’s just a lot more uncertainty,” he said. “Our researchers are succeeding, but it’s harder. Agility, teamwork and multi-sector problem-solving is key.”
The university hopes to diversify funding with new sources, including industry partners. ISEB themes might make that easier. Engineering leaders, especially, like the focus on commercial applications and solving pressing problems.
“We expect a broad portfolio because we have researchers working in areas of national importance,” said Chris Zorman, MS ’91, PhD ’94, the interim dean of the Case School of Engineering. He noted researchers are also working in areas of interest to business and industry, like energy storage, advanced materials, and new manufacturing techniques.
“We’re not studying black holes. It’s not research for research’s sake,” Zorman said. “It’s research with a purpose. We’re looking at problem areas, which are also opportunity areas. Maybe we’ll be able to attract interest from industry that we were not getting before.”
Some researchers are showing the way. Rohan Akolkar, PhD ’05, a professor of energy innovation and leader of the Electrochemistry cluster, has formed partnerships with Intel and Cleveland Cliffs with his research that could lead to cleaner steelmaking and domestic production of rare-earth materials.
Drew Adams, a biotech specialist who leads the Life Science Therapeutics cluster, has attained success translating academic discoveries into therapeutic products. He even co-founded his own drug company, Convelo Therapeutics, which is testing experimental drugs for people afflicted with neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis.
Research that helps humanity is also expected to elevate the university.
“It’s not only about the work we can do today in this building, but the faculty we can recruit because of what this space provides,” Ward said. “The space itself, the beauty and the collaboration inside of it, will help us recruit top faculty to our campus. That is going to live on, and drive our problem solving for a long time.”
ISEB is on schedule for an October ribbon cutting.
'Merry Christmas'
On a sunny March day, a dozen faculty members — representing most of the cluster leaders — joined Michael Oakes on a private tour of the building, their first glimpse inside. Floors were still in the throes of construction, messy with heaps of insulation and dangling wires, but the professors oohed and aahed to see the outlines of big, bright labs divided by glass walls. It was a far cry from the cramped, cinderblockwalled labs that many were working in.
“Merry Christmas,” Oakes said.
Chris Wirth, the leader of the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing cluster, said the ISEB labs — outfitted with the latest temperature and humidity controls — will mirror the top research labs in industry. He said he intends to move in his entire lab team, and that he looks forward to collaborating with colleagues from other disciplines whom he seldom sees. “I’m super excited,” he said. “I think it will help with research teamwork, allowing us to go after bigger grants, bigger projects. And it helps with camaraderie, too.”
Floor 1:
Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Electrochemistry
Floor 2:
Precision Diagnostics & Therapeutics Life Science Therapeutics
Floor 3:
Neurorobotics Neurotechnologies
Floor 4:
Climate & Ecosystems
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