Science at the University of San Diego has a luxurious new pad.

The back yard of the $47 million science center boasts a double-helix-shaped walkway with a view. In front, ginkgoes and ferns pose in the Prehistoric Garden.

And that's just the landscaping.

The dedication of the Donald P. Shiley Center for Science and Technology takes place tomorrow, marking the most extensive science investment for USD to date. The 50,000-square-foot building will house USD's chemistry, biology, physics and marine and environmental sciences departments.

"The center will change the image of USD," said Patrick Drinan, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "When you drive down Interstate 8 and look up, the center dominates the school's profile. It shows a modern, active presence in the science community."

USD's previously separated science departments couldn't mingle much. But starting this summer, the new facility's 78 laboratories and classrooms will spawn what Drinan calls "cross-disciplinary energy."

The labs are also breeding grounds for the next wave of biotechnology workers. Experts rank the San Diego region third in the United States for booming biotech centers, behind the Bay Area and Boston.

"This (center) puts USD on the biotech map in a way that it wasn't before," said David Gollaher, president of California Healthcare Institute, a biomedical advocacy group. "It's really important to have a great indigenous academic engine producing people."

It's also important to have a magnet that will draw people from all over, Gollaher said. USD joins UCSD, The Scripps Research Institute and recently, SDSU, in advanced biotechnology research.

The Shileys' $10 million donation to the Donald P. Shiley Science and Technology Center is among major private donations to support undergraduate science education in the San Diego region. The Shiley name is synonymous with projects throughout San Diego County, including the Shiley Eye Center. Other donations include $2 million to The Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation and $1 million for Scripps fellowships.

Donald Shiley's philanthropy was made possible by his patented Bjork-Shiley heart valve, which he invented in the 1970s.

"As a man of science, Donald has never lost sight of his values," said Darlene Shiley, who has served on the USD Board of Trustees for more than a decade. "Neither Donald or I came from a privileged lifestyle. But both of us were taught by our families that education was the way to be successful, not just monetary success, but really fulfilled."

While waiting for job offers from biotech companies, recent USD graduate Sean McCreary is spending part of his summer studying endangered crustaceans under the new facility's microscopes. McCreary said he has been teased with the blueprints of the science center for the past four years. So he's taking advantage of the new equipment while he can.

"This will bring science credibility to the school," McCreary said. "People will see how much money is spent on housing the science departments. It's going to open a lot of doors." In the past few months, USD already has landed four or five research grants, said chemistry professor Leigh Plesniak, who is doing research with students this summer.

"I get to see my biology colleagues right across the hallway," the professor said. "Just by being nearby, we are already learning from each other."

This science interplay is exactly what Sue Lowery, biology professor and the center's faculty coordinator, envisioned. By bringing all the departments under the same roof, she wanted to emphasize to students that science is a whole cloth, she said.

"Science is often very intimidating," she said. "We wanted a building that is warm and inviting, not cold and sterile. We wanted there to be less fear about taking science classes."

But behind the student-friendly building, complete with a two-story interactive art display, is a powerhouse of high-tech equipment.

A nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer used to analyze chemical compounds is settled in after a hefty $20,000 moving fee. A geographic information system laboratory will map San Diego ecosystems. Four environmental rooms are temperature-controlled, and a laser particle sorter and electron microscopy lab feature up-to-date equipment. NASA is among the center's 700 donors.

"I consider myself a big nerd," sophomore biology major Vince Gonzalez said from behind protective goggles while working in a Shiley center lab. "But is the building cool? Definitely."