Facilities

Lawrence M. Witmer, PhD, Associate Professor of Anatomy
Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
Ohio University, 123 Life Sciences Building, Athens, Ohio  45701  USA
Phone: 740 593 9489; Fax: 740 593 2383
Email: witmerl@ohio.edu
   

New Ohio University Life Sciences Research Facility

Construction is currently underway on a new Life Sciences building that will house a diversity of faculty and research laboratories.  The projected occupancy date is April 2002.  The new building will be on OU's West Green, not far from our current facilities.

The upper image at right is a close-up of the new building, and the lower image is a more distant view, showing it in the context of the West Green.

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The Witmer lab will be part of a wonderful 7500 sq. ft. comparative functional morphology complex that also will house the labs of Audrone Biknevicius (click here for a picture of her personnel), Stephen M. Reilly, and Donald B. Miles.  Biknevicius, Reilly, and Witmer collaboratively designed the shared spaces, with Audrone and Steve contributing mostly to the Vertebrate Biomechanics Suite and Larry to the Vertebrate Morphology Analysis and Preparation (VMAP) Suite.

The VMAP Suite is a 1400 sq. ft. dream facility for anatomical studies.  There will be a large, well-lit, main preparation room with ample work surfaces, gleaming stainless steel, huge sinks, industrial fume hoods, and plenty of storage.  Opening off the main prep room is a walk-in freezer, walk-in dermestid colony, and a "clean" area for histology, clearing-and-staining, etc.  Associated with the VMAP will be a dedicated X-ray room, and a large collection room to house and catalog the research specimens.

The Vertebrate Biomechanics Suite will be a state-of-the-art facility for experimental studies on animal locomotion, with capabilities for force transducers, EMG, etc. Opening off the main room is a support lab (for building force plates, electrodes, etc.) and a fully equipped shop for larger scale construction.

In addition to these shared spaces, the faculty each will have individual labs (about 950 sq. ft.).  For the folks in the Witmer lab, we'll finally have the space to work simultaneously on large dinosaur specimens and large specimens of modern animals like rhinos and manatees. Faculty and graduate student office will be located across the hall from the labs.

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click here for an even larger version of this image