The natural sciences are preparing to enter the fray of campus construction projects, as administrators and faculty map out a new building to be located somewhere between the Physics, Biological Sciences and Gross Chemistry buildings. With research, teaching and office space, the new building is planned as a major improvement over its future neighbors, none of which have undergone major renovations since they were built.
"Experimental sciences--primarily those with lab use--are in facilities now that are about 35 years old," said Berndt Mueller, dean of the natural sciences. "You have to appreciate that the way sciences have gone in the last 35 years has changed dramatically."
Planning for the building is still in the preliminary stages as architects work to design a space that will accommodate the complex and diverse needs of researchers. Construction will not begin for at least six months on the 110,000-square-foot facility, which includes more space than the 100,000-square-foot Biological Sciences, Mueller said.
At least initially, space in the new building and in Biological Sciences will be split between the chemistry and biology departments. The future of Gross Chem, which has "third-rate" space according to an external review three years ago, has not been determined.
The condition of laboratory space, both for researchers and teaching, is a major issue for all of the sciences. Researchers describe current facilities as worn-out, cramped or awkward, with old infrastructure, such as decayed vents and hoods, and worn furniture and shelves.
"In the late 1960s, when [Gross Chem] was designed and built, it was just before a lot of innovative thinking about science buildings took place in the United States," said Steven Baldwin, professor of chemistry.
Even the structure of some of the spaces may be inefficient. Some say rooms are often too large or too small for teaching needs, and the labs for undergraduate biology classes are currently spread over several floors and wings in Biological Sciences.
"There are a lot of problems moving equipment, and a lot of the equipment isn't movable," said Terry Corliss, who manages undergraduate biology labs. "Lab space has been moved about as they renovate different areas for incoming people, so we've been in spaces that weren't really designed for teaching labs."
Such spaces need to be improved for the University's major investments in the sciences to succeed, said Kathleen Smith, chair of the biology department. "Our teaching space is probably equal to a bad high school space, maybe a middle school space," she said.
In addition to citing inefficient and uncomfortable spaces, Smith said that the lack of workable research and office space hurts the ability of natural science departments to recruit faculty.
"We basically have run out of space in the department to move faculty into," she said. "Without a new building, we'd be stuck for years."
Although administrators have not made final decisions on the new building's tenants, they hope to encourage work across disciplines. The new facility may include room for the University's various new science initiatives, including those in genetics and nanoscience, and it will likely be directly connected to neighboring science buildings--possibly even the Levine Science Research Center.
"Almost everyone in the sciences does at least part of their research at the molecular level, even a lot of the primate research, so it's really important to have easy, easy connections between these buildings," said Frederik Nijhout, professor of biology.
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