<p>A great addition to Florida State:</p>
<p>*Located along Chieftan Way on the campus's west side, the 168,000-square-foot, five story building is, according to Joe Schlenoff, chairman of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, "the best in the country."</p>
<p>Wetherell said the new facility will offer opportunities to attract even more top talent to the university's chemistry program, already ranked among the top 50 in the country.</p>
<p>Schlenoff noted, "Chemistry is well known as the 'central science': We bridge disciplines, foster collaborations and bring together scientists from other fields. A chemist could be laboring to understand the workings of a cell, or creating new medicines or innovative materials. Some of us try to understand atomic nuclei, and others look at distant galaxies, searching for the spectroscopic signatures of certain elements or molecules.</p>
<p>"Supporting such diverse interests requires a robust laboratory, capable of hosting current and yet-to-be imagined experiments," Schlenoff said. "This building was designed with input by a broad group of chemists to support ground-breaking molecular sciences. Our instruments are as versatile as our people, covering the widest range of the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to X-rays, and our gathering spaces provide pleasant surroundings for faculty and students to get excited about science. This building truly represents the state of the art in chemistry research facilities and is a great example of what academics, administrators and other professionals can achieve when they share a vision of excellence."</p>
<p>The $72-million building will house some 250 researchers and will considerably expand research capabilities and programs in the molecular sciences. FSU administrators acknowledged the excellent research and scholarly activities of the university's chemistry faculty, some of which led to significant patent royalties that helped to make the building possible.</p>
<p>The composition of the Chemical Sciences Laboratory is as follows:</p>
<pre><code>* The first floor will host core research facilities and a lecture hall capable of holding 160 people.
* Floors 2 through 4 have been designed to provide highly flexible laboratory space that can accommodate a broad spectrum of experimental and computational approaches.
* The fifth floor will be devoted to synthetic organic chemistry.
</code></pre>
<p>The new building also is extraordinarily intensive in utilities, Schlenoff said. Among the cutting-edge features provided throughout the facility are 145 fume hoods designed to limit researchers' exposure to hazardous and/or unpleasant fumes; chilled water; pure nitrogen gas; compressed air; natural gas; steam and vacuum pressure; and distilled water.*</p>
<p>For the complete article see: Florida</a> State University</p>