...was recruited from that niche. But he is cautious. "We must be careful not to let the hype of nanotechnology get to us," he says. "It’s evolutionary."

Bioterrorism risk, evidenced by the post-9/11 anthrax scare, has also ramped up government research. The National Institutes of Health will spend at least $700 million to build 11 state-of-the-art "biocontainment" labs at U.S. universities to study bioterror, as well as SARS and West Nile virus. "We have crafted a biodefense research agenda emphasizing rapid translation of basic findings into real products," says Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Hill International Inc., Marlton, N.J., is managing lab design and construction under a $26-million contract.

Government is not the only R&D construction driver. Nearly half-built is a $300-million manufacturing plant for biotech firm Human Genome Sciences Inc. in Rockville, Md. The 300,000-sq-ft facility is the latest and largest facility in the firm’s seven-year research scale-up for new drugs to fight such diseases as lupus, hepatitis C and cancer, says Jerry Parrott, HGS communications vice president. "Heavy manufacturing capacity is a strategic advantage that sets you apart from other biotech companies," he says.

"This has been more complicated because the process is not proven," says Wadid Halaka, project director for designer Lockwood Greene, Spartanburg, S.C. Building on tight deadlines around planned 20,000-liter bioreactors has been tough for contractor Gilbane Building Co., Providence. "The process equipment and an incredible amount of piping, instrumentation and controls–that’s where the challenge is," says project executive Chuck Brawley. "No matter how complicated it is, market timing is involved and the schedule has to be met."