Life Sciences Building

Auditorium

“The auditorium is a resource for the entire campus. It’s separate from the academic building, so it can easily host events when the main building is closed. It has dedicated elevator banks, restrooms and a patio, and a capacity of nearly 300.”
—Tina Choe, dean, Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering

Lounges

“My students have a Pecha Kucha every Friday afternoon — a student presents 20 slides about their work, with 20 seconds to explain each one — in the lounge outside my office. We use a wireless projector in my office and put images on the wall. I had no idea the lounges were going to be so impactful.”
—Victor Carmona, associate professor of biology

Green Roof

“When it rains, you’ll have natural aerial pollutants settling on hard surfaces and the building’s green roof, where they will be absorbed into the soil. When the soil is saturated, water will come out. Students will be able to compare the contaminants in runoff that goes into the ocean with the those captured by a green roof.”
—John Dorsey, professor of civil engineering and environmental science

Solar Panels

“We are excited to use several features of the new building to help students learn about sustainable practices. In particular, students will work on projects utilizing the green roof and solar panels, as well as approaches used to reduce energy usage and/or provide greater energy efficiency.”
—James Landry, chair and professor of chemistry and biochemistry

Technology-Enhanced Classroom

“In teaching organic chemistry, I emphasize critical thinking. I like to capture the problem-solving process. Students in the classroom work on tablets and can project their work to computer screens around the room. I can walk around the room to review their work and move a student’s work to every screen in the room and highlight it.”
—Jeremy McCallum, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry