Aubert Hall Open House Set for October 1
Contact: Media contact: Nick Houtman, Dept. of Public Affairs, 207-581-3777
ORONO– University of Maine faculty and students are moving this month into brightly renovated laboratories, offices and seminar classrooms in Aubert Hall. The public will have a chance to tour the new facilities during an open house celebration on October 1.
UMaine President Peter S. Hoff and Arthur Ellis, Director of the Chemistry Division of the National Science Foundation, will provide remarks at the event that begins at 4 p.m. in the Aubert Hall lobby facing the tree-lined Mall. Refreshments will be provided, and the renovated space is fully accessible to people with disabilities.
The Department of Chemistry is the principal occupant of Aubert Hall. The School of Marine Sciences also has two labs and administrative offices in the newly renovated third floor.
The renovations include new chemistry labs equipped with state-of-the-art ventilation hoods and bench top work spaces. Computational chemistry research and instructional space are in the center of the building while facilities that handle chemicals are at both ends. These “wet” chemistry labs are served by separate ventilation systems.
New graduate student offices are adjacent to the laboratories. Seminar rooms are in close proximity to offices and labs, and an ITV classroom provides access to faculty and guest lecturer presentations at remote locations.
Much of the department’s research and instructional instrumentation, such as the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers, liquid chromatography mass spectrometer (LCMS), gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GCMS), and the Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer, or FT-ICR, will be housed in the renovated laboratories.
Faculty and students in the chemistry department conduct research in a broad array of areas including chemical and biological sensors, biological and medicinal chemistry, wood and paper chemistry, environmental chemistry, and surface chemistry.
Renovations completed to date are the first phase of an estimated $21 million total project. The Maine State Legislature and the University of Maine System have funded $9 million and $3 million respectively.
Named in honor of Alfred Bellamy Aubert, professor of chemistry from 1874 to 1909, Aubert Hall was built in 1914 to house the departments of chemistry and chemical engineering.