A ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 24 officially opened an 85,355-square-foot facility on the Texas A&M University campus to advance the research and teaching on nutrition, food insecurity, precision nutrition and responsive agriculture.
The building honors the legacy of Norman E. Borlaug, Ph.D., who is often called the “Father of the Green Revolution.” He was a Distinguished Professor of International Agriculture at the university.
The Norman E. Borlaug Building on the university’s west campus is a redesign and renovation of the former Norman E. Borlaug Center for Southern Crop Improvement. The three-year project was an initiative among The Texas A&M University System; Texas A&M University; the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, USDA-ARS; the Governor’s University Research Initiative; and Texas A&M AgriLife Research.
“Texas A&M has been and continues to lead agriculture and life science research for the world, and this building will help us pave new paths in nutrition, food and health,” said Regent John Bellinger, The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. “I think Dr. Borlaug would be proud of this building and how it sets the stage for the future of agriculture and food at Texas A&M.”
“This advanced facility, this impressive new monument, and the immense efforts to bring these projects to fruition reflect the tenacity of Dr. Borlaug in his life’s work that saved a billion lives,” said Chancellor John Sharp of The Texas A&M University System. “We are proud that his legacy will live on in this space — a shining example for future generations and the world-class faculty and staff who will conduct their important work within these walls.”
Texas A&M System Facilities Planning and Construction, along with AgriLife Facilities Management and Construction, spearheaded the project’s logistics. Page Southerland Page Inc. was the architectural firm and Bartlett Cocke General Contractors managed the construction.
A life-size statue of Borlaug was also unveiled during the ceremony. Located in front of the building and created by sculptor Benjamin Victor, the statue is the same as the one of Borlaug in the National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C.
Advanced facilities to advance research
Texas A&M AgriLife entities to be housed in the new building include the Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture and the College of Agriculture and Life Science Department of Nutrition. It will also house several employees of USDA-ARS.
The work being done at the facility will advance research in precision nutrition, responsive agriculture and ways to reduce diet-related chronic disease. It will also address the adoption and maintenance of dietary behaviors to improve the quality of life for individuals, communities and populations, plus ways to help enhance food nutrition and reduce food insecurity.
“Buildings bring people together,” said Jeffrey W. Savell, Ph.D., vice chancellor and dean for Agriculture and Life Sciences. “We look forward to what this building, and most importantly, the people in it, will accomplish to improve lives.”
The building features office space as well as cutting-edge laboratory facilities designed for research under conditions classified as Biological Safety Level 2. Some laboratories have an open-concept design for flexibility, depending on the research, and all labs use daylighting techniques and LED lighting to reduce energy use. Emergency power is available for all critical building systems and lab instrumentation.
“This research will continue to make our food systems more resilient and sustainable, food producers more prosperous, and give our Texas and global communities new hope for a healthier future,” said G. Cliff Lamb, Ph.D., director of AgriLife Research.
Architectural and artistic features
Along with the statue of Borlaug, the building has special artistic and architectural features that honor and reflect his legacy. The building’s main architectural feature, the rotunda, was expanded into a two-story space from a pre-existing single-story library area. The rotunda has a two-story all-glass feature with a wood ceiling design that reflects Borlaug’s many contributions, as well as terrazzo floors and an accent wall made of cut stone.
A special art feature within the rotunda is the glass chandelier created by Wimberley Glassworks. As a tribute to Borlaug’s work, this unique piece incorporates gold-colored glass that represents the special wheat variety he developed, as well as blue glass with a clear edge, which represents the sky and water.
Federal collaboration and funding
The federal funding for USDA-ARS and AgriLife Research was achieved through federal appropriations supported by members of the Texas congressional delegation. Among those leaders were U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, U.S. Rep. Kay Granger and former U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway, who served as Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.
Each of them, along with several others, helped to initiate and maintain funding, and then increase funding levels for nutrition research, modernized facilities and cutting-edge equipment now and into the future. Texas A&M AgriLife shared its appreciation for the collaboration with USDA-ARS, which will allow the collaborators to grow and expand nutrition research that will benefit public health and productive agriculture systems.
Speakers and attendees at Borlaug Building ribbon-cutting
G. Cliff Lamb, Ph.D., director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, presided over the event and Jeffrey W. Savell, Ph.D., vice chancellor and dean for Agriculture and Life Sciences, provided a welcome. Speakers at the ribbon-cutting ceremony included Regent John Bellinger of the Texas A&M’s System’s Board of Regents; Chancellor John Sharp of The Texas A&M University System; Larry Chandler, Plains Area director for USDA-ARS; Julie Borlaug, granddaughter of Norman Borlaug and president of Borlaug Consulting; and Elsa Murano, Ph.D., director of the Norman E. Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture and Development.
About Norman E. Borlaug
As an agronomist, Borlaug perfected a durable and prolific dwarf wheat variety that helped save the lives of an estimated 1 billion people in food-insecure nations of the world. He received many prestigious honors in his lifetime, including the U.S. Presidential Medal of Science, the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal and the Nobel Peace Prize for his revolutionary humanitarian efforts.
Borlaug also founded the World Food Prize to recognize breakthrough achievements toward improving the quality, quantity and availability of food in the world. He died in 2009 at the age of 95.
