by Fraser Hall is being remodeled to house state-of-the-art chemistry equipment, new study spaces for students and a scenic view of the Mississippi River.
The construction project started about two years ago, with two-thirds funded by the state capital projects and the rest by the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering department.
Fraser’s new chemistry labs will enable students to do experiments and write about their findings in the same space. There will also be a new chemistry tutoring space and a general study area.
The current lab space in Smith and Kolthoff Hall is small, David Blank, the associate dean for the Department of Chemistry, said.
“It was terrible. It was absolutely terrible. It’s part of what convinced the legislators that we had to do something, which is they would come for these visits to see the spaces we needed to renovate and they would be stepping over the students to get to the lab and asking why they are all sitting in the hallway and we say because this is the space we have,” Blank said.
University spokesperson Rhonda Zurn said the new building will not only allow more space but also allow for a new type of chemistry.
“When I took chemistry back in the olden days, it really was about more of what they call that cookbook where you take this chemical, mix it with this chemical. and you learned some new things about chemistry. This is really looking at problem solving and trying to figure out things and come up with new solutions and teaching students to problem solve,” Zurn said.
