By Brian McNeill

In a step toward its goal of becoming a top-tier science research institution, the University of Virginia on Friday marked the start of construction of two major research buildings.

One of the buildings, Rice Hall, will be at the corner of Whitehead and Stadium roads and will focus on information-technology research as part of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

The six-story, 100,000-square-foot building will emphasize research on such topics as high-performance computing, computer security, wireless communication, energy conservation, telemedicine and virtual reality.

The second facility will be operated by the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and will be called the Physical and Life Sciences Building. It will be located on Geldard Drive, adjacent to the Chemistry Building and Gilmer Hall.

The 100,000-square-foot, five-story building will feature large wet lab space, low-vibration lab areas, flexible space for future research and an atmosphere designed to encourage collaboration among faculty, researchers and students.

“These buildings make tangible the university’s commitment to the sciences,” said College Dean Meredith Jung-En Woo.

UVa President John T. Casteen III said the buildings will “enhance work, build careers and improve instruction for future students” once they open in fall 2011.

UVa has long sought to boost its standing as a scientific research institution. The new buildings, Casteen said, will offer research space that will be needed for the university to achieve its ambitions.

“The [Board of Visitors’] commitment is to make the future of science happen here,” Casteen said.

James H. Aylor, dean of the engineering school, called the groundbreaking an “amazingly exciting time in the history of the school and the university.” It will help attract top faculty, researchers and students to UVa, he said.

Aylor added that Rice Hall will be built with sustainable materials and will be outfitted with monitors to allow the building to be a “living laboratory” of energy efficiency.

Both Rice Hall and the Physical and Life Sciences Building are expected to achieve a silver-level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Rice Hall is named after Paul Rice, who graduated from UVa’s engineering school in 1975 and went on to found high-tech government contracting firm PEC Solutions, which was eventually acquired by Nortel Government Solutions. Rice and his wife, Gina, gave $10 million to help finance the building.

All told, Rice Hall will cost an estimated $76.3 million. In addition to private contributions, the project is being funded as part of a higher education bond package approved by the General Assembly in 2008.

The College’s research building will cost $88.9 million. Its debt service will be covered by existing revenue within UVa’s departments, primarily from research-oriented offices, said Colette Sheehy, UVa’s vice president for management and budget.