A University of Washington lab inhabiting much of the bottom floor of Fluke Hall is a picture of yellow-lit precision.
Workers in giant, white clean outfits resembling space suits, or maybe quarantine garb, control large metal machines under yellow light that makes the room act essentially like a big dark room. Huge machines are creating teeny tiny computer chips and sensors, some barely visible to the naked eye, used in electronics, medical devices and vehicles.
The lab is preparing to embark on an expansion project, growing from 7,000 to about 12,000 square feet and increasing the amount of “clean room” space the lab has for scientists.