This project includes modernizing and expanding the University of Maine Analytical Laboratory and Soil Testing Service located in Deering Hall, constructed in 1981, to increase capacity to provide in-demand testing for thousands of annual users, enhance soil research, and foster hands-on student learning, and support the sustainability and growth of Maine’s natural resource economy and dependent jobs. Funding of $4 million for construction and equipment was secured in FY24 by U.S. Sens. Collins and King at the request of UMS and awarded by the National Institutes of Standards and Technologies. The design firm selected for this project is LaVallee Brensinger, and the construction manager selection process is underway. Construction is expected to start in late fall of this year.