Another top-notch research facility will join the Iowa State community Monday when the 3M Corporate Business Laboratory celebrates its grand opening.

“It’s an opportunity for the public to see the setup and chat informally with the faculty scholars and the students,” said Barbara Clark, program coordinator for the College of Business.

A brief program at 10 a.m. in the Gallery Room of the Memorial Union will kick off the festivities.

Benjamin Allen, dean of the College of Business, will give introductions and ISU President Martin Jischke will welcome the public.

Other speakers include Charles Kiester, 3M executive vice president of manufacturing, engineering and quality, and Ted Stotlar, the lab’s founder and manager of operations.

Following the program, an open house will be held from 10:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the lab, located at 2625 North Loop Drive, Building 2, in the ISU Research Park.

Both events are open to the public, Clark said, and the open house will be catered by The Broiler, 6008 Lincoln Way.

The business laboratory operates through the cooperative efforts of 3M Corp. of St. Paul, Minn., and ISU’s Colleges of Business, Engineering and Education.

Within the 3M company, it is directed by a partnership between research and development, manufacturing and marketing divisions, Stotlar said.

ISU students in the lab work in interdisciplinary teams, designing and executing research projects for 3M, according to Russ Laczniak, associate professor of marketing and one of three faculty scholars at the lab.

The teams work in three areas: marketing-oriented, strategic management and engineering.

Current projects they are working on include scanning the business environment for new distribution strategies and sales force incentives, scouting new product markets and improving product design, Laczniak said.