Leaders of UF and the chemistry department put on their hard hats and brought out their shovels to break ground on the new Chemistry/Chemical Biology Building on Friday morning.
The building, which will be situated at Buckman Drive and West University Avenue, will feature four floors dedicated to chemistry studies.
The first two floors will hold undergraduate studies and classrooms for lower-level chemistry classes. Two of the floors will house state-of-the-art labs for faculty and graduate students working in chemical biology and chemical synthesis.
“This new building will make the chemistry program much more attractive to graduate students and professors,” said William Dolbier, chairman of the chemistry department.
Construction on the 110,000 square-foot building is expected to be completed in May of 2016. It will cost about $67 million to build, and about $42 million of which has been committed by the state of Florida.
At the event, Bernie Machen said the building will help UF take another step forward. This building will be the fourth chemistry building at UF.
Leigh Hall, where most of the general chemistry courses are taught, was built in 1927. Dolbier said this new building is a long time coming. The current chemistry labs were designed for six students but are holding about 21 students, he said.
“Freshmen would come here and think, ‘this is worse than my high school,’ and would be turned away from pursuing chemistry here,” he said, “but now, this will open their eyes and let them see chemistry at its best.”
Forty percent of the incoming freshman class is taking general chemistry classes, said Cory Yeffet, UF Student Body president.
Chemistry is required for engineering, biology and medicine students. Dolbier said he thinks this new building will allow for more collaborations between the College of Medicine and the College of Engineering.
“You can’t have a top 10 university without a top chemistry department,” Dolbier said.
UF President Bernie Machen, second from left, participates in the Chemistry/Chemical Biology Building groundbreaking ceremony Friday.
