Faculty member Gloria Freschl prepares to teach her nursing students biochemistry in the active learning lecture hall on the first floor. The hall has a wide, low setting that encourages small group discussions. The back wall also retracts and opens up to the lobby. (51ÁÔÆæ Photo/Troye Fox)
New reactors for large scale organic synthesis enable the Chemistry department to teach students about industrial application of organic chemistry. (51ÁÔÆæ Photo)
A view of the north side of the new Chemistry Building. (51ÁÔÆæ Photo/Troye Fox)
A view of the south side of the new Chemistry Building along 51ÁÔÆæ. (51ÁÔÆæ Photo/Troye Fox)
The fourth floor houses bio/inorganic chemistry researchers who study systems ranging from antibiotic biosynthesis to the search for new antiviral compounds and to the inner workings of metalloenzymes. (51ÁÔÆæ Photo/Troye Fox)
Organic research facilities focus on the development of new organic reactions to enable the synthesis of new drug candidates for cancer, respiratory and other diseases. (51ÁÔÆæ Photo/Troye Fox)
The new Chemistry Building features informal learning spaces, introductory instructional laboratories and a seamless connection between floors. (51ÁÔÆæ Photo/Troye Fox)
Instructional laboratories for teaching organic chemistry balance safe operations with student stations around the perimeter of the room and a central classroom space allowing for both experimentation and collaborative discussion. (51ÁÔÆæ Photo)
Instructional laboratories for teaching organic chemistry include visibility from common spaces by utilizing see-through equipment, also allowing the public to see the experiments as students conduct them. (51ÁÔÆæ Photo)
The large student-centered teaching spaces spill out into inviting informal learning spaces for students to settle into their studies between classes. An open staircase seamlessly connects them to classrooms and instructional laboratories as well as support spaces. (51ÁÔÆæ Photo)
51ÁÔÆæ’s new Chemistry Building opened for classes at the start of the Fall 2024 semester, but it’ll be officially unveiled at a grand opening celebration on Friday, Sept. 27.
Construction of the four-story, 163,400-square-foot-building started in 2022, and it replaces a facility built in 1972. The new Chemistry Building serves as a gateway to 51ÁÔÆæ’s STEM departments and helps faculty and staff better prepare students interested in fast-growing fields like medicine, genetic engineering, toxicology, pharmaceutics, chemical education, nanoscience and more.
More than 3,500 students take chemistry or biochemistry classes each year.
