Just two weeks after the ribbon cutting ceremony officially opened the University of Wyoming’s High Bay Research Facility, the building has been recognized by a construction industry publication as the best 2017 higher education/research project in the northern Rocky Mountain Region.

Engineering News-Record Mountain States announced earlier this month that the High Bay facility was selected to be honored as part of its 17th year of the ENR Mountain States project awards, which includes submissions from Colorado, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota.

The High Bay Research Facility was chosen by a panel of nine judges who looked at all areas of the construction industry, from architects, general contractors to virtual designers and engineers.

The High Bay Facility is a 90,000-square-foot, $68 million building housing traditional and high-bay research laboratories, offices and meeting areas. The facility will house laboratories that will enable research to improve understanding of recovering oil from unconventional and conventional oil and gas reservoirs, as part of UW’s Tier-1 Engineering Initiative.

Governor Matt Mead, Wyoming Senate President Eli Bebout, Speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives Steve Harshman, UW President Laurie Nichols and UW Board of Trustees President John MacPherson were among those who spoke at the grand opening ceremony of the facility on Aug. 17.

ENR Mountain States will present the award at an award ceremony on Oct. 25 in Denver.

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