Even state-of-the-art laboratory fume hoods can’t contain the youthful exuberance spilling out of Christine DiMeglio’s organic chemistry class these days. It’s gotten to the point where, one day recently, a student stopped to give DiMeglio a friendly hug on the way out of the lab.
The same vibrancy is also pouring forth from Iain Dawson’s microbiology class, Aruna Pawashe’s molecular biology classes, Stephen Irons’ physics classes — and throughout the newly renovated Sterling Chemistry Lab (SCL). Whether they’re isolating bacteria or chilling lasers, students are finding that an upgrade in the physical environment has led to an upgrade in learning.
“In science, you look for the emergent properties,” said Dale Tager ’17, as he stepped away from his microscope in a second-floor biology lab at SCL. “Having a markedly better lab translates directly into having a better morale and a more cohesive environment for learning.”
The faculty clearly concurs. “What we have now is an integrated science space,” said Jonathan Parr, who teaches general chemistry and inorganic chemistry on the third floor of SCL. “It’s a mood, and it’s meaningful. “We’re integrating the idea of being in the lab with the idea of being at the center of the university.”
The new SCL, which debuted last September, has state-of-the-art labs for five Yale science departments: molecular biophysics & biochemistry; molecular, cellular and developmental biology; ecology and evolutionary biology; chemistry; and physics.
Renovations to SCL encompassed 159,000 square feet, of which 31,600 is additional space. The result included not only the new teaching labs, but also an overhaul of mechanical systems and new lounge areas and student lockers.
Meanwhile, Yale’s laboratory renaissance continues just down the hill on Prospect Street at the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS).
Coinciding with the opening of the new residential colleges in the fall, SEAS will open six new undergraduate teaching labs, along with two wet labs with fume hoods. The project brings together labs from all disciplines in engineering — currently scattered over four buildings — into one space.
By having all the teaching labs together, students from different disciplines will have more chances to interact. For instance, a mechanical engineering major will be able to seek advice from a nearby electrical engineering student, or a chemical and environmental engineering study group will be able to borrow tools normally used in biomedical engineering.
Read full article at: http://news.yale.edu/2017/04/24/yale-s-newest-stem-labs-teaching-takes-bold-step-forward
Related article at: Organic Chemistry Help Online
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