The campus community is invited to take part in a “topping off” ceremony at UWindsor’s new science research and innovation building on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. at the construction site, located at the northwest corner of Essex Hall.

President Alan Wildeman will be joined by members of the construction team to sign and hoist the final beam on top of the new building’s frame.

The topping-off custom can be traced to the ancient Scandinavian tradition of placing a tree on top of a new building to appease the tree-dwelling spirits displaced in its construction. In today’s steel trade, it signifies that construction has reached the sky safely and bodes well for the future inhabitants of the building.

The project was announced in January of this year during an event with Navdeep Bains (MBA 2001), federal minister of innovation, science and economic development. The 46,000 square foot, three-storey addition to the current Essex Hall will house research dedicated to advanced materials, translational health, and medical physics.