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The
University on April 21 celebrated a groundbreaking for its new
state-of-the-art Carolina Physical Science Complex, which will
usher in a new era of research and discovery in Chapel Hill benefiting
North Carolina, the nation and the world.
The $205 million complex
is the largest construction project in the history of the University.
It will enhance Carolina's longtime interdisciplinary strengths
by bringing together faculty and students in high-technology laboratories,
classrooms, lecture halls and libraries.
SCIENTIA CELEBRITAS A
cake stands in as a tasty symbol for the groundbreaking
of the Science Complex on April 21. Pictured (left - right)
are Professor Holden Thorp, Board of Trustees Chair Richard
"Stick" Williams, Chancellor James Moeser, UNC System President
Molly Broad and alumnus and donor W. Lowry Caudill. |
Those facilities will house
the departments of chemistry, computer science, marine sciences,
mathematics and physics and astronomy in the College of Arts &
Sciences, as well as a new Institute for Advanced Materials, Nanoscience
and Technology.
"The Carolina Physical
Science Complex is arguably the most important project in our
capital construction program because it will ensure that Carolina
continues to have world-class faculty and students and remains
a leader in science and technology among top research universities,"
Chancellor James Moeser said in his remarks at the ceremony. "The
science complex will also benefit North Carolina's economy by
training scientific leaders and advancing knowledge vital to our
state's successful future."
When the complex is completed
in 2009, faculty and students will conduct research and learn
in high-technology lecture halls and laboratories that include
vibration-free space for electron microscopes, laser labs, teleconference
rooms and special shielding to avoid electronic interference.
These innovative labs will provide the best resources -- with
sufficient space the University now lacks -- for the latest in
research.
Richard "Stick" Williams,
chair of the Board of Trustees, spoke at the ceremony and noted
that faculty have been integrally involved in building designs
for the facilities. He said that as a trustee, who must approve
those designs before they can be built, he has been "very impressed
by the passion of the scientists.
What's more, Williams said,
the close proximity of the various facilities will further enhance
the "culture of collegiality that we're so proud of on this campus."
The science complex results
from a public-private partnership driven by the 2000 Higher Education
Bond Referendum. When North Carolina citizens voted for the referendum,
they approved nearly $84 million for the complex. That was the
referendum's single largest allocation for any project across
the 16-campus UNC system.
"It's a remarkable
vote of confidence in the quality of the science faculty and the
students here at Chapel Hill," said UNC President Molly Corbett
Broad, who also spoke at the ceremony.
The University is raising
more than $22 million in private gifts for the science complex
as part of the Carolina First campaign, a comprehensive, multi-year
effort to support the University's vision of becoming the nation's
leading public university. The campaign goal is $1.8 billion.
Carolina scientists also
are helping finance the science complex construction costs. Research
grants they are awarded by the federal government and other sources
bring with them overhead receipts -- reimbursements for the cost
of conducting research -- that are part of the project's financing
plan.
Moeser announced at the
ceremony that Royce Murray, a longtime chemistry professor at
Carolina, would be honored with a place at the heart of the new
complex. (See related story below.)
The space was named as part
of a $3 million gift by W. Lowry Caudill, chair of the complex
steering committee, and his wife Suzi. Caudill, a 1979 Carolina
graduate and former head of pharmaceutical development at Cardinal
Health in Research Triangle Park, was mentored by Murray during
his time as a student here.
At the ceremony, Caudill
said the science complex will help keep North Carolina at the
forefront of science and technology, a key to the state's economy.
And it will make Carolina
the nation's top science university, he said. "We have the leadership.
We have the vision. We have the drive."
BACK
TO TOP
Royce Murray's name to take an
honored place
in the shade
Royce Murray, a Carolina
chemistry professor whose 43-year career has been marked by extraordinary
achievement as a scholar and educator, will be honored with a
place in the heart of the new Carolina Physical Science Complex.
Chancellor James Moeser
on April 21 announced the naming of the Royce Murray Quadrangle
-- the largest of the green spaces planned in the complex -- during
a groundbreaking celebration for the largest construction project
in the University's history.
IN GOOD COMPANY Chemistry
Professor Royce Murray is recognized by the crowd at the
groundbreaking of the science complex. The largest of the
complex's green spaces will be named after him. |
The quadrangle was named
as part of a $3 million gift from Lowry Caudill, a 1979 Carolina
graduate and former president of pharmaceutical development at
Cardinal Health in Research Triangle Park and his wife Suzi, also
a Tar Heel alumna.
Caudill grew up in Shelby,
where his high school chemistry teacher-- another Carolina alumnus
-- "lit the fire" of his interest in the subject, Caudill said
at the groundbreaking celebration.
Murray, Kenan professor
and former chemistry department chair, later became Lowry's mentor
at Carolina and influenced his career direction.
"I am a product of
North Carolina," Caudill said.
The Murray Quadrangle will
be bordered by new buildings on the present site of Venable Hall,
a new physics and astronomy addition behind Phillips Hall, and
Sitterson and Carroll Halls, and will serve as the complex's main
point of entry from Columbia Street.
Trees, walkways and benches
are planned for the space that will serve as a gathering spot
for faculty and students. The Murray Quadrangle is expected to
be completed in 2009 after building construction ends.
"It's wonderful to
see Royce, a highly respected member of our faculty, honored in
such a meaningful way," said Bernadette Gray-Little, dean of the
College of Arts & Sciences. "His many years of service and
scholarship have earned him a place of distinction at Carolina.
We're grateful to Lowry and Suzi Caudill for making this well-deserved
recognition possible."
Murray came to the University
in 1960 as an instructor just weeks after earning his Ph.D. in
chemistry from Northwestern University in just three years. The
Alabama native received his undergraduate degree in chemistry
in 1957 at age 20 from Birmingham Southern College.
Murray's contributions to
electrochemistry and the chemistry of new materials are recognized
worldwide. Among his research accomplishments, Murray introduced
the concept of chemically modified electrodes, tools that are
important as chemical sensors, fuel cells and in solar energy
conversion. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences
and editor of "Analytical Chemistry."
Murray has garnered countless
awards, including the University's Thomas Jefferson Award and
the North Carolina Award in Science, both in 2001. During his
43-year career at Carolina, he has mentored hundreds of graduate
and postgraduate students, published more than 460 research articles
and editorials and four books, and holds three patents.
In 1967, Murray headed a
campus building committee that led to the construction of the
William Rand Kenan Laboratories, completed in 1971 at a cost of
$4.5 million. A chief advocate of the new science complex, Murray
has been a leader in its planning.
Murray also has been the
driving force behind the chemistry department's growth to national
prominence, especially in analytical chemistry, said Holden Thorp,
a chemistry professor, director of the Morehead Planetarium and
Science Center and faculty director of the science complex.
"Faculty at research
universities are called to research, teaching and service, and
there's no one that has done better at all three than Royce Murray,"
said Thorp. "In the tradition of Polk Place and McCorkle Place,
Murray Quad will serve as a meeting place and a home to the many
informal conversations and musings that make Carolina such a unique
place."
The Caudills' gift is part
of the Carolina First campaign goal of $1.8 billion. Carolina
First is a comprehensive, multi-year private fund-raising campaign
to support Carolina's vision of becoming the nation's leading
public university.
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