Boston University Photonics Center
building located in Boston University
The Boston University Photonics Center (BUPC) is a building and research center owned by Boston University. The 10-floor 235,000 sq ft (21,800 m2) building opened in June 1997, finished at a cost of $78.4 million. The center specializes in developing and commercializing new products for the photonics industry, spanning the fields of biomedical engineering, nanoscience, physics, astronomy, and chemistry. The two lowest floors include classroom and lab spaces used by the College of Engineering; a number of engineering faculty also have their offices and research labs in the building.
The Photonics Center is located adjacent to the 8-lane Mass Pike and the busy Framingham/Worcester commuter rail line, which create noise and vibration that unmitigated would be disruptive to lectures and experiments. The steel frame of the building is founded on a reinforced concrete mat to minimize vibrations, while the above ground windows have a 1-inch airspace between window panes to block ambient sound from the highway.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Boston University Photonics Center” as building located in Boston University. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as building located in Boston University. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 8, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q4948180. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1997.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Boston University Photonics Center”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Boston University Photonics Center primary sources, Boston University Photonics Center archive and Boston research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Boston University Photonics Center”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Boston University Photonics Center” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.