Research Facilities

We're doers at CMU. But as every creator knows, the right results start with the right tools. Just take a tour of our research facilities, and it's obvious how seriously we take our commitment to building new knowledge.

Turn vision into reality

No matter your medium — stone or plastic, paint or pixels — the Department of Art & Design's studios have the tools to turn your vision into reality. Artisans can use a full bronze foundry and professional wood and metal shops, as well as a traditional darkroom, four open-air studios, and a ceramic studio, among other resources. Artists in all disciplines can take advantage of 3D printers, CNC routers, and other equipment

See our studios

Shape young minds

Discover Early Childhood Development and Learning

Want to build a better teacher? First, you need to understand how children learn. Our Child Development and Learning Lab gives faculty and students insight into the pre-K mind. Using a Reggio-inspired model, we're able to examine the social, cognitive, and emotional development of the youngest students on campus.

A home for breakthroughs

Welcome to CMU’s new Biosciences Building

The numbers alone on our biosciences building are impressive. 169,000 square feet. $95 million. Six 24-seat teaching laboratories. But the work done here is even more impressive. Researchers at our biosafety level 3 lab, for example, are trying to cure tuberculosis, a bacterial disease that kills 1.5 million people a year. And botanists at our herbarium, which houses 26,000 plant specimens, are contributing to sustainable wetlands. Our researchers aren't just satisfied with building knowledge. We do something with it.

Quantum leap

Today's microchips are made from silicon, one of the most abundant materials on the planet. Tomorrow's microchips may be made of materials that don't exist outside the lab. At our Lab of Quantum Materials in the Dow Science Complex, researchers are growing crystals from atoms, which they hope to power ever-more-powerful computers.