Over the past three months the cement foundations for Phase II were poured and most of the steel was erected. Interior metal stud work, risers, and preparation for slab pours are being completed. The original 1925 building demolition work is almost completed and the foundation and steel work to connect that section to the new construction complete in Phase I is proceeding at this time. Retaining walls for the original building are being reinforced. Areas are being enclosed with plastic and heated for further work in the cold weather. Over the next several weeks metal work for the atrium will be erected.
The certificate of occupancy for Phase I, the newly constructed wing, was granted in July 2004, and the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, as well as two Psychology faculty members with specialties in neuroscience moved into their new offices and laboratories over the summer. An active summer program took place despite the disruption of moving. And in just the past few weeks, our new NSF-supported 500 Mhz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer was installed in a specially-designed lab space.
Although two seminar rooms and some laboratories completed in Phase I are being used for classes this academic year, most of the classroom space will be built in Phase II, so several larger courses are being taught in other academic buildings. The Departments of Geology and Psychology will move into the new Science Center when Phase II is completed. At that time, the Departments of Biology and Physics will expand into additional space, and two faculty members with specialties in Geoarchaeology will move into their offices in the Science Center.
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