Gleaming under a bright morning sky, the new Arkansas State University Biosciences Institute opened its doors to the public Saturday, ushering in what officials called "a brand new era" for ASU and biomedical research. "This university means a lot to a lot of us," said Arkansas Attorney General Mike Beebe, during the mid-morning dedication of the 4-story building at the south entrance to the ASU campus. "The truth of the matter is, with this facility and this new mission, it's a whole new playing field for this university. It's become a research university ... and it's become a leader." Funded by a portion of Arkansas' share of tobacco settlement funds through what became known as the CHART initiative, ABI is a research center with outreach initiatives to K-12 education, to businesses and to industry and to the community, officials have said. Some areas of the facility will be secure, with entry accessed through use of a palm reader. Portions of the building will be so secure, in fact, that Saturday's guided tours which followed the dedication were the only chance for the general public and most ASU faculty and staff to see them. A greenhouse sits atop the facility and is one of four main stations there. ABI's goal is to interface agriculture and medicine through use of the greenhouse. Prior to a ribbon-cutting ceremony near the ABI entrance, Dr. Harry Ward, chancellor emeritus of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences who worked on Arkansas' CHART funding plan, told a crowd of more than 200 that Beebe accepted the idea of a biosciences program warmly when approached by CHART proponents. But he didn't stop there. He pushed the issue, Ward said, suggesting that if bioscience research would become a key use of settlement funds, that perhaps ASU needed a new building to house its portion of the research. "Then-Sen. Beebe was very pleased with our program," Ward said. "He told me, 'I think ASU needs a new science building,' and I said, 'Makes a hell of a lot of good sense to me.' I think the growth here is marvelous." Ward said as a chancellor at UAMS, he has worked with hundreds of people from ASU, and "your students we received on our campus were always absolutely superior. "It was always a pleasure to work with ASU, and we have a close relationship with you," Ward added. Ward called ASU President Dr. Les Wyatt "absolutely tireless" in bringing the facility to ASU, as well as Beebe, who provided the initial "vision" for the building. "I am very impressed with your new facility," Ward said. Mike Medlock, chairman of the ASU Board of Trustees, called himself simply a "common laborer" in acquiring the facility, adding that it was a "great day" for ASU. "My appreciation also goes out to Gov. Mike Huckabee for arranging the expenditure of the (tobacco) funding and for working on the passage of the CHART initiative," he said. The crowd also heard comments from ABI Executive Director Carole Cramer, who referred to the facility as a "spectacular building" and a "catalyst for change." The greenhouse has capabilities for year-round growth of soybeans, rice, corn and exotic plants, officials have said. It will explore "healthy, positive uses of tobacco," researching such concepts as transgenic plants as "factories" for proteins that could be used to develop vaccines. The third level of the building is home to the "blue floor" or "plant floor," where researchers will focus on plant molecular biology. It's a place where transgenic plants can be produced and machines can be used to coat DNA and "blast it into plants," Cramer said recently. On the third level, plant-based production of pha