The newest structures on campus may only consist of insulation and crossbeams visible to the world, but, when finished, will provide the newest technology to students.

The new classrooms and laboratories are expected to give the university a competitive edge when attracting prospective students, according to an e-mail from Jay Doyle, press secretary and special assistant to OU President David L. Boren.

At a cost of nearly $200 million, the new buildings and additions to current structures will add more than 500,000 square feet to the university’s space, according to Doyle.

Robert Houser, assistant chair of the Chemistry/Biochemistry Department, will work and teach in the new Stephenson Life Sciences Research Center. Houser said there are three reasons the department needs new digs: space, safety and technology.

“We’ve really shoehorned our people really tight,” Houser said about the chemistry building currently located on the North Oval. “We’ve got facilities that are almost 100 years old, so moving in will allow us to have a graduate program that is state-of-the-art and competitive with the best chemistry and biochemistry research facilities in the nation.”

The Stephenson Center will include a nuclear magnetic resonance imager, a mass spectrometer and an X-ray crystallography machine. The department is expected to move across campus to the new center in late 2010.

Houser said the department has contributed to the final architectural designs.

“It’s sort of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, because normally you’re in a building and you don’t get the chance to design a new one,” he said.

Another pair of new projects that will be finished by next year bear the names of two energy corporations: Devon Energy and ExxonMobil.

Classrooms, laboratories and research facilities are planned for Devon Energy Hall, while the ExxonMobil Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering Practice Facility is designed for projects of a larger scale.

“It will be a one-of-a-kind ‘practice field,’” said Luanne Howk, facilities coordinator and College of Engineering liaison for the project.

She said it is a place where students will use hands-on equipment, such as drilling simulators.

“It has been such a wonderful opportunity to see the project begin as a vision, and to be a part of the team effort,” she said. “To see that vision through … is something that I will always be grateful to have been a part of. It can be hectic at times. There is a massive amount of planning and then working through problems as you implement those plans.”

The least expensive new construction project will be a bicycle and pedestrian pathway along Jenkins Avenue, near State Highway 9 and the Stephenson Research Center. At an expected cost of $1 million, the sidewalk could be funded with a grant from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.

Since 1995, nearly $1.5 billion in construction projects will have been completed, according to Doyle. Most of the funds for current projects come from bonds, state appropriations and private donations.