The Origins Institute has long been a symbol of McMaster's interdisciplinary,
collaborative approach to education, research and outreach.

Dealing with big-picture questions about time, space and life itself, the Institute was
created in 2004, but has always worked without a place to call home.

Its members, specialists in fields as diverse as psychology, physics, geography and
mathematics, have worked from their individual departments without a specific place to
congregate.

Monday the Institute is officially opening its first physical headquarters in an adapted
physics lab on the second floor of the Arthur Bourns Building at the southwest corner of
campus.

The lab had moved to the Burke Science Building, and the space it once occupied has
now been reworked to become a stylish multi-use facility to be called the Origins
Institute Centre, with spaces, furniture and technology for working, meeting and
socializing.

A conference table that faces a large monitor means that teams can now meet face-to-
face, both in person and via remote connection.

Adjoining offices will allow researchers to work and have easy access to one another,
and undergraduate and graduate student researchers alike will have a place to meet
with speakers, faculty members and each other.

A lounge area and coffee bar will facilitate informal dialogue that frequently generates
new ideas.

Dozens of scholars visit McMaster each year for public speaking engagements and
collaborations at the Institute, and the new Centre includes an office that will give them
a place to work and meet with McMaster students and faculty members while they are
here.

“It's all about making these connections between people, and that needs a dedicated
place. We're thrilled to have this,” Pudritz said. “You need a place where you can get
together and talk. That's crucial to research: that interaction.”

In coming weeks, the Institute also plans to open a 3D cinema for educational films that
is expected to increase its public profile.