The Rita Rossi Colwell Center

The Colwell Center for Marine Research and Exploration was built in 1995 to be a multi-use facility, to provide a world center for excellence in marine research, and to allow the public to interface with the scientific research world–to provide a port hole to the Marine World.

Today, owned and managed by the University System of Maryland, it continues this mission as one of the country’s leading centers for research and economic development in life sciences, biotechnology and health care.

The Rita Rossi Colwell Center is an architecturally striking 250,000-square-foot multi-functional facility in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

It is a hub for Maryland’s blossoming tech-startup culture and offers prestigious office spaces, wet labs, meeting rooms, and inspiring event spaces.

HISTORY OF THE COLWELL CENTER

In 1998, the center’s largest tenant, the University System of Maryland, purchased the facility and assumed management responsibility.

In 2010, there was a reorganization that resulted in the creation of the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET). IMET is a joint University System of Maryland research institute capitalizing on the strengths of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and the University of Maryland Baltimore. The Columbus Center facility is managed and operated by UMBC.

Today, the missions of exploration and collaboration continue. By drawing faculty and students from the University System of Maryland and scientists from around the world, IMET faculty conduct research into marine and coastal environments. Towson University’s Center for STEM Excellence also furthers this mission at the Columbus Center, by serving Maryland’s K-12 schools through outreach programs supporting science education.

In December 2022 the building was officially renamed to the Rita Rossi Colwell Center. Dr. Colwell was instrumental in the founding of the Columbus Center for the purpose of expanding environmental science education and research in Baltimore City and it is most appropriate that the building is now being named for her as the Rita Rossi Colwell Center. Dr. Rita Rossi Colwell is an internationally renowned microbiologist and marine scientist of Italian American descent with strong connections to the USM and IMET. Dr. Colwell is a prominent national and international scholar with a distinguished record of service and accomplishments.

Located at 701 E Pratt Street Baltimore, MD 21202