Department of Chemistry
Construction and Renovation News
After months of renovations to the old Geology wing of the Arthur Bourns Building, the Grand Opening of the McMaster Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratories is taking place on Tuesday, November 12th, 2002. All undergraduate labs are now held in the Arthur Bourns Building and no longer in Burke Science. It's been quite a change for both the staff and students and a very positive one! The labs are bigger, brighter and the increased number of hoods means that all students now work in fume hoods and smells have been virtually eliminated. No longer can you locate the organic labs by following your nose!
The move to the new wing was completed in August and labs were up and running for the beginning of term in September. The undergraduate labs now fill the entire north wing of ABB from the fourth floor to the first floor. In addition to the labs, there are prep rooms on every floor including the basement where storage rooms are also located. The only labs not located in this wing are the physical chemistry labs and the third year analytical lab. These labs are in the original chemistry wing on the first floor which was also renovated for their purpose.
First year labs are running every day, morning and afternoon now and due to a further increase in number have spread from the first up to the third floor. Second year analytical labs run on the second floor, second year organic labs for non-chemists run on the third floor and the honours chemistry courses run on the fourth floor.
The layout of these labs is quite different to the way things used to be in old Burke Science. Our new labs are close to 100 feet long and span the entire length of the wing. Island and peninsula benches are staggered along the length of the room with student fume hoods on almost every bench, depending on the floor. To maintain the spaciousness of the lab and ensure good visability for the TA's supervising the labs, the student hoods were custom designed to have glass panels in the sides and between the back-to-back hoods. This allows you to see through the hoods and view students working on either side of the hoods. In general, two students work in each hood so they are equiped with dual controls and range from 5 to 6 feet in width, giving the students 2.5 to 3 feet of working space. Dispensing and designated waste hoods are located around the perimeter of the labs.
The undergraduate staff have worked tirelessly thoughout this process to ensure the move and subsequent set up of these labs went flawlessly. Starting in December of last year, they began packing up and labeling first term equipment and experiments and by the end of the spring, all equipment, instruments, experiments and chemicals had been packed and labeled with the room number of their new home. The movers completed the move within days and the unpacking began. Cardboard boxes littered the halls on every floor. During all of this, the contractors were still finishing up last minute touches such as painting, hanging shelving, and final commissioning of the facilities. Through it all everyone managed to keep their cool and get the jobs done. A missing erlenmyer or beaker from one of the 600 student drawers, on the third floor alone, is the only complaint we get, other than finding that elusive cylinder wrench! It's a true testament to the incredible organization and efficiency with which this move was carried out by our staff. Thanks Penny, Donna, Michele, Trisha and Diane - we couldn't have done it without you!
And last but certainly not least, thanks to Joe Medeiros our Project Manager and Ira McDonald Construction our general contractors. Having this project finish on schedule to ensure all labs were up and running for September was always a key issue. They made it happen and we couldn't be happier.
The New Biomolecular Wing
We're right on schedule with the new Biomolecular wing. The building is fully enclosed now and the windows look great. In this weather I'm sure the workers are happy to be inside! The interior floors are taking shape and by mid February we should see lab furniture beginning to arrive for installation. The furniture will be delivered to the new wing through the existing Chemistry wing. This will cause some inconveniences for people and tie up the elevators a bit. The results will be worth it I'm sure.
The floors will be completed in order from 1st to 4th. This should allow for delivery of the 700MHz NMR in April. If things continue to stay on schedule we'll be working in there in no time.
Department of Chemistry
McMaster University
21 January, 2003; leah