CU Boulder SEEL 314a and COSINC FAB Renovations

Creating adaptable research environments that support innovation today and scientific discovery tomorrow.

Saunders completed the Colorado Shared Instrumentation in Nanofabrication and Characterization (COSINC) laboratory within the Sustainability, Energy and Environment Laboratory (SEEL) building at the University of Colorado Boulder, delivering a highly specialized research environment designed to evolve alongside advancing technologies and research needs.

The COSINC lab serves as a multidisciplinary research facility and service center within the College of Engineering and Applied Science, supporting work in microfabrication, nanofabrication, and materials characterization. The facility provides researchers, students, and industry partners with access to advanced instrumentation, specialized training, and educational opportunities that help drive innovation throughout Colorado and the surrounding region.

Designed with flexibility as a core objective, the laboratory incorporates adaptable systems and infrastructure that allow equipment and research spaces to be reconfigured over time. This future-focused approach ensures the facility can continue to support emerging technologies, evolving research programs, and the university’s ongoing leadership in science, engineering, and advanced materials research.

SEEL 314a: The scope of work of the SEEL 314a Renovation included renovating six separate spaces totaling 6,183 square feet and installing laboratory equipment. The project team removed perchloric and hydrofluoric hoods and safely capped and abandoned the exhaust ducts. The project team also installed exhaust enclosures and relocated a chemical fume hood. The 314a project was enabling work for the COSINC project, which was one of the first ISO 5 cleanrooms to be built on the CU Boulder campus.

SEEL COSINC: The scope of work of the SEEL COSINC Renovation included demolition of 3,500-square-feet of existing lab space to be converted into ISO 5 and ISO 6 clean rooms, a new ground up 1,200-square-foot mechanical room attached to the existing building, and all associated tool hookups in the renovated space. Throughout construction, the building remained occupied and operational.