WHAT: Rutgers University and New Jersey officials will host a groundbreaking for the Chemistry and Chemical Biology (CCB) building, a new academic and research facility.

WHO: Gov. Chris Christie; Rochelle Hendricks, secretary of higher education; Rutgers President Robert Barchi; Richard Edwards, chancellor, Rutgers-New Brunswick and executive vice president for academic affairs; and Richard S. Falk, acting executive dean, School of Arts and Sciences

WHEN: Monday, June 16, 10 a.m.

WHERE: Wright-Rieman Laboratories, 610 Taylor Road, Busch Campus, Piscataway, N.J. Parking available in Lot 54 (http://maps.rutgers.edu/location/lot-54).

BACKGROUND: The new CCB building will be located adjacent to the Wright-Rieman Chemistry Complex on the Busch Campus. Funded largely by the 2012 Building Our Future Bond Act, the 145,000 square-foot, $115 million facility will provide critically needed teaching, laboratory and support space that will enable Rutgers to expand and accelerate its leading-edge research in drug design, alternative energy, biomaterials and nanotechnology. Rutgers ranks first among U.S. universities in federal funding for chemistry research.

Core facilities in the new CCB building will feature a microscopy suite, a class 100 chemistry clean room, as well as optical spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography laboratories. Classrooms will provide the latest technology to support teaching and learning. Modular design and versatile infrastructure will allow reconfiguration of labs and classrooms to respond as technology evolves and the needs of students and faculty change. More than 5,000 students enroll in Rutgers chemistry courses each semester.

The first building in the Wright-Rieman Chemistry Complex was opened in the late 1940s and additional facilities were built in the 1960s and 1970s. Despite some improvements, the buildings are outdated and cannot accommodate the demands of contemporary science teaching and collaborative, multidisciplinary research.

The CCB building is slated for completion in fall 2016. The project will conform to state of New Jersey energy mandates and guidelines, and Rutgers seeks to achieve a LEED Gold certification.