Renovations are now complete, and crews are installing equipment in a 6,000-square-foot area on the second floor of Noyes Laboratory that features two state-of-the-art instructional laboratories that will position the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign at the forefront of chemical sciences education.
Half of the space was designed for the revitalization of the Department of Chemistry's advanced organic and inorganic lab courses, featuring upgraded facilities and equipment that will better prepare undergraduate and graduate students for successful careers. The modern instructional laboratory space features an advanced organic synthesis lab for chemistry majors specializing in organic chemistry and an inorganic synthesis lab for chemistry majors and graduate students specializing in inorganic chemistry. And the other half of the 6,000 square feet was designed for the Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering department's capstone laboratory courses, enabling that department to develop new experiments and experiences relevant to today’s chemical engineering profession.
Construction began in early 2024 and involved a complete overhaul of the second-floor area in Noyes that previously housed an outdated laboratory that was no longer in use. Renovations wrapped up in February of this year, and in March, crews began moving in items and setting up equipment. Both laboratories will begin hosting lab classes in August.
View a gallery of photos of the new chemistry instructional laboratory
The facilities not only meet up-to-date safety standards but are more efficient and better equipped to provide students with high-tech experiential learning opportunities that prepare them for a successful career in chemistry. The chemistry lab features new fume hoods, windows that increase the overall lighting and learning atmosphere as well as improved ventilation and electrical and mechanical systems. And for the first-time, the courses utilizing this new space have glove boxes eliminating the need to utilize glove boxes in other labs on campus.
New experiments that reflect the importance of modern topics such as asymmetric catalysis and organometallic mediated cross-coupling reactions will be added to the courses that will be held in this space, beginning this fall. Those courses are CHEM 437, an organic chemistry lab; CHEM 317, and inorganic chemistry lab; and CHEM 517, an advanced inorganic chem Lab. The department plans to increase the number of such experiments and introduce new analytical methods and spectroscopic tools used to monitor reactions and characterize both organic and inorganic compounds.
In addition to new equipment that is essential to a modern chemistry education, the space features an instrument room with a glass wall that allows visitors and prospective students to observe state-of-the-art chemistry in action, providing a unique opportunity to improve undergraduate chemistry major recruiting.
In addition, a new hallway connects the east and west side of the building, improving accessibility (including ADA), routes of egress, and overall circulation in the building that accommodates thousands of students every day.