{"id":156208,"date":"2019-11-05T08:22:46","date_gmt":"2019-11-05T13:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?post_type=school-college-post&p=156208"},"modified":"2019-11-05T08:37:37","modified_gmt":"2019-11-05T13:37:37","slug":"new-phase-gant-science-complex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2019\/11\/new-phase-gant-science-complex\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Phase for the Gant Science Complex"},"content":{"rendered":"

A third of the way through its 10-year renovation, the Gant Science Complex is already showing off as a hub for collaborative learning and research in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.<\/p>\n

Sometimes referred to as the Math-Science Building, the Gant Science Complex was first constructed between 1974 and 1978 and was home to the departments of mathematics and physics for several decades. The renovation<\/a> to this 285,00 square-foot campus landmark is part of Next Generation Connecticut<\/a>, the 2013 initiative to expand educational opportunities, research, and innovation in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines at UConn.<\/p>\n

The University is tackling the Gant project in three phases, according to Thomas Haskell, senior project manager in the Office of University Planning, Design, and Construction.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to put science on display and give Gant a fundamentally new image for the campus,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Phase I of the renovation focused on revitalizing the south wing of the building to meet the needs of the Department of Physics, which relocated from the west wing in August of 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new space is critical to the future of our department,\u201d says Barrett Wells, professor and head of the Department of Physics.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Exterior of the south wing of the Gant Science Complex, located across from the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts. (Sean Flynn\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"\"<\/a>
Amelia Henkel '19 (CLAS) and Tyler Metivier '20 (CLAS) chat in a lounge space of the new astrophysics theory suite. The space is personalized with a colorful, wall-sized mural and light fixtures that look like constellations of the night sky. (Bri Diaz\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"\"<\/a>
Sarah Trallero, instructor-in-residence in the Department of Physics, leads a section of PHYS 1501: Physics for Engineers in a new scale-up studio classroom. (Bri Diaz\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"\"<\/a>
Students in PHYS 1501: Physics for Engineers, a course that the Department of Physics recently redesigned to take advantage of the new scale-up studio classrooms. The new class format promotes active learning, collaborative problem solving, and faculty-student interaction, according to Professor and Head of Physics Barrett Wells. (Bri Diaz\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"\"<\/a>
A hallway and study lounge in the south wing of the Gant Science Complex. According to Senior Project Manager Thomas Haskell, increased natural light and improved wayfinding make the renovated sections of Gant more user-friendly and intuitive to navigate.<\/div><\/div>\"\"<\/a>
Students in an introductory physics course lab section work together in one of the Gant Science Complex\u2019s new state-of-the-art learning laboratories. (Bri Diaz\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"\"<\/a>
Alexander Kovner, professor of physics, in his new office on the fourth floor of the Gant Science Complex, which looks west toward the Castleman and Student Union buildings. (Bri Diaz\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"\"<\/a>
Professor of Physics Alexander Kovner talks with Ming Li, a postdoctoral research associate, in the particle and nuclear physics theory suite on the fourth floor of the Gant Science Complex. The theory suites feature faculty offices centered around mixed-use conference and lounge spaces. (Bri Diaz\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div>\"\"<\/a>
From left to right: Brenna Robertson '20 (CLAS), Joyce Caliendo '20 (CLAS), and Michael Rainville '21 (CLAS) chat and study in a renovated lounge. Professor and Head of Physics Barrett Wells says that the new mixed-use lounge and study spaces in Gant will help students feel more integrated into the Department. (Bri Diaz\/UConn Photo)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

The renovated south wing features new state-of-the-art learning laboratories and five scale-up<\/a> studio classrooms. Using these facilities, the Department rolled out a full suite of redesigned introductory courses<\/a> for physics, engineering, and biology majors this academic year.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur studio-labs have allowed us to completely overhaul how we teach physics, which now centers around teams of students pursuing integrated theoretical and experimental activities,\u201d says Wells. \u201cThis is the largest teaching project the Department has taken on for at least 40 years, and it will alter the experience of learning physics for over 1,000 students a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to classrooms and modern offices, the south wing features mixed-use spaces that encourage scholarly and social collaboration. These include four \u201ctheory suites,\u201d which group faculty and graduate student offices by research area, and lounge spaces on each floor.<\/p>\n

Another amenity nearing competition is a grand \u201clight court<\/a>\u201d in the center of the Complex. The courtyard will feature floor-to-ceiling windows; a curved, cantilevered staircase; and copious cushioned seating and mixed-use study spaces.<\/p>\n

\u201cAround the building there are more meeting rooms and informal places to stop and discuss,\u201d says Wells. \u201cWe also have spaces for undergraduate students to congregate, study, and socialize, helping them feel part of the physics family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haskell says that creating a more welcoming environment for undergraduate students was a primary goal for the renovation, as was improving the energy efficiency and performance of the building.<\/p>\n

This was no small feat because of the high demands of the faculty research laboratories, according to Haskell.<\/p>\n

Some of these labs, which are still under construction, require very specific systems and controls for humidity levels, temperatures, and airflow, says Haskell. The building designers worked closely with the Department\u2019s principal investigators to make sure the space met these standards.<\/p>\n

In the end, the hard work will pay off for the Department\u2019s researchers and for the University, says Wells.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe research labs, once finished, will be state of the art with proper infrastructure for safety, environmental control, and efficient work\u2014the kind of infrastructure we need to attract and retain world-class scientists for our faculty,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

All three phases of the Gant Science Complex renovation project are expected to be completed by 2024. Once finished, the building will also house offices and teaching facilities for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences biology departments and shared support facilities for the University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A third of the way through its 10-year renovation, the Gant Complex\u2014otherwise known as the Math-Science Building\u2014is already showing off as a hub for collaborative learning and research in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":156209,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2226],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[1858],"class_list":["post-156208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-clas"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-08 17:57:09","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156208"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":156219,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156208\/revisions\/156219"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/156209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156208"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=156208"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=156208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}