SEAS opens new lab space

Engineering Dean Gregory Farrington officially opened the Chemical Engineering Department's new Advanced Chemical Technologies Laboratory at a crowded ceremony last night, declaring that the new facility will "make sure that undergraduate and graduate students get the kind of education they deserve." The laboratory, housed in the Towne Building, will give the department much needed space for faculty and graduate student research and room for lab demonstrations for undergraduates. The University, corporate sponsors, and individuals funded the $1.7 million renovations and expansion of the lab. 1955 Engineering graduate Robert Christiansen, who spoke at the event, said the new facility will improve the department. "It will help attract keen minds to study," he said. "This modernized space is beautiful, truly remarkable." The laboratory will be used for study of chemical reactors and separations, which before the renovations was carried out in a poorly organized lab space half the size. "For me, it's important space," explained graduate student Dave Parrillo. "All the equipment we had was before squashed into a little corner." David Tuohey, a graduate student and lab engineer, said he expects undergraduates to reap benefits from the new facility. "Hopefully the theory that they learned for the last couple of years will be applied down here [in the new lab]," he said. At last night's ceremony, Provost Michael Aiken focused on how the new lab would help the University stay competitive in research. Farrington said he was excited about the new facility. "It's a state of the art facility for undergraduate and graduate education," he explained. "We cannot provide education without facilities like it."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.