In designing Science Hall, faculty planned not only for current needs but also for the needs of a constantly evolving science curriculum. They were also eager to create a facility that would encourage greater interdisciplinary and interdepartmental interaction to mirror the way in which scientific inquiry is conducted.
Several areas of the building are shared by students from different disciplines. The first and second floors contain 83- and 46-seat lecture halls, respectively, that are used for a wide variety of courses and are particularly designed for demonstrations in advanced chemistry and biology. They also serve as the home of our Science Hall Colloquia series, where visiting scientists, many of whom are alumni, deliver talks on areas of current significance in the sciences.
The first floor is also home to a shared chemistry/biology computer laboratory, providing a collection of computers that serve courses and students in both departments. Adjacent to that is a general computing lab for drop-in use by students from anywhere on campus.
A shared molecular modeling lab houses powerful computers that students use to carry out sophisticated computations that provide new insights into molecular structure and properties. They are able to visualize molecules, alone or interacting; to explore the chemical behavior of compounds too unstable to prepare in the laboratory; and to examine common materials under extreme conditions. Students in biology are able to do similar computations and visualizations on the larger molecules (e.g., proteins or DNA fragments) that they encounter in the laboratory.