The University of Arizona Grand Challenges Research Building (GCRB) is an interdisciplinary research facility located on the University of Arizona campus. Pillar 2 of the University of Arizona’s strategic plan is dedicated to Grand Challenges — tackling the critical problems at the edges of human endeavor. The seven-story, 115,000 SF interdisciplinary building supports this mission specifically by providing space to foster conversations among different programs on campus. Collaborative areas will include transparent corridors, flexible classrooms, conference rooms, a lobby, a kitchenette and lounge space, multipurpose rooms, administrative offices and interactive outdoor areas on each floor.

The GCRB will include a ground floor with public spaces, study spaces and meeting rooms to support student engagement and instruction, as well as three floors of laboratories and offices dedicated to faculty growth in the James C. Wyant College of Optical Sciences. The building also will include three floors dedicated to research laboratories and offices for centers and cross-campus interdisciplinary programs, including the new Center for Quantum Networks, led by the College of Optical Sciences.