Nokia Bell Labs Breaks Ground on New Jersey Headquarters

Nokia Bell Labs is embarking on a significant new chapter with the launch of its future headquarters in New Brunswick, New Jersey. This move coincides with the organization’s 100th anniversary, celebrated earlier this year at its historic Murray Hill campus, a site renowned for landmark innovations including the Bellmac-32 microprocessor and the Horn Antenna satellite Earth station, which provided crucial evidence for the big bang theory.

A formal groundbreaking ceremony took place on September 4th for the new facility, situated approximately 32 kilometers south of the existing campus and just 10 kilometers from the IEEE’s Piscataway office. The planned structure, named the Health and Life Science Exchange 2 (HELIX 2), will be a ten-story building encompassing 34,374 square meters. Construction is slated for completion by the end of 2027. This facility represents the second of three buildings planned for the city’s emerging innovation district, a zone specifically designed to attract research laboratories, collaborative workspaces, and offices for startup companies.

The ceremony featured prominent figures such as Thierry E. Klein, President of Bell Labs Solutions Research, and Peter Vetter, President of Bell Labs Core Research, both of whom are IEEE Fellows. They were joined by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and New Brunswick Mayor James Cahill, alongside other state and local dignitaries.

“Today’s groundbreaking marks a new and exciting chapter in Bell Labs’ long history in New Jersey,” Klein stated. He emphasized that the relocation to the HELIX continues the institution’s legacy of excellence and its dedication to pioneering research on the East Coast. The new location, he noted, provides unique strategic benefits that will accelerate innovation by offering closer proximity to leading academic institutions and a dynamic startup ecosystem.

Klein highlighted the advantages of being in a vibrant urban setting for attracting top-tier talent. The proximity to universities like Princeton, Rutgers, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and the Stevens Institute of Technology is a considerable asset. He framed this move not as a short-term change but as a long-term commitment, declaring, “This is going to be home for Bell Labs for a very, very long time.”

Governor Murphy underscored the significance of Nokia Bell Labs choosing to remain in New Jersey, noting it could have selected any global location for its new base. He credited the organization as the embodiment of the state’s innovative spirit. “Our illustrious history of innovation in New Jersey could be summarized in two words: Bell Labs,” Murphy said. He expressed confidence that the new headquarters will establish a fresh foundation for cutting-edge work in fields like quantum physics, generative artificial intelligence, and optical communications. Through partnerships and spinoffs, the governor expects the lab to continue driving the state’s innovation economy.

This development aligns with Governor Murphy’s 2018 initiative to establish a dozen innovation hubs across New Jersey to draw entrepreneurs and early-stage companies. The first of these, the HELIX 1 building, is located adjacent to the new Bell Labs site and is anticipated to open next year, housing Rutgers’ medical school and its translational research institute.

These new facilities will provide fully furnished offices and laboratories equipped with advanced scientific instrumentation. Major tenants are set to include prominent healthcare networks such as Hackensack Meridian Health and Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health.

Mayor Cahill pointed out that New Brunswick has a rich history of hosting innovators. The global pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson was founded in the city, originating in a local wallpaper factory. He recounted that the Johnson brothers and inventor Thomas Edison, whose laboratory was in nearby Menlo Park, frequently met at a local drugstore lunch counter to discuss manufacturing progress. He also noted that Albert Einstein, during his time at Princeton University, was often seen walking the streets of New Brunswick.

The new headquarters has been specifically designed to meet the advanced requirements of research scientists and technical specialists. “It’s an efficient, modern, and low-carbon facility providing sustainable power, heating, and cooling capabilities,” Klein explained. The aim is to provide researchers with an optimal environment to foster groundbreaking work.

Peter Vetter reflected that this is not the first headquarters relocation for Bell Labs, which began its primary R&D operations in New York City in 1925 before moving to Murray Hill in 1941. That campus was the birthplace of transformative technologies in the following decades, including the transistor and the foundational technology for cellular networks.

Vetter expressed his hope that this new move will act as a similar catalyst for discovery. “I want to think that our move will again be a catalyst for breakthrough innovations to happen in the decade after we move in,” he said, pointing to potential advances in future areas like 7G, AI, quantum computing, and quantum network security.

He also stressed the importance of translating laboratory discoveries into practical, real-world solutions. It is not enough to solve a problem in a controlled environment; the technology must make the leap into commercial application. This involves not only conducting research but also fostering the companies that will bring these technologies to market and lead the next century of innovation.

In a related celebration of its historic contributions, several technologies pioneered at Bell Labs are scheduled to be designated as IEEE Milestones in an October 21st ceremony in Murray Hill. The honored innovations include super-resolved microscopy, the charge-coupled device, and the fractional quantum Hall effect, all of which have been recognized with Nobel Prizes. The IEEE Milestones program, administered by the IEEE History Center and supported by donors, acknowledges exceptional technical developments worldwide.

(Source: Spectrum)