The goals of the Department of Chemistry at Princeton University are to pursue basic research at the highest level, and to educated undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students in the theoretical and experimental basis for Chemistry. At Princeton, chemistry plays an integral role in interdisciplinary programs such as the Princeton Materials Institute, the Princeton Center for Photonics and Opto-Electronic Materials, the University's Environmental Initiative, and a proposed joint initiative with Molecular Biology for biostructural chemistry. The department is embarking on a series of major research initiatives, difficult to accomplish in the original Frick Laboratory. Erected in 1926, the facility is inadequate to support advanced research activities. With NSF support, a comprehensive renovation and infrastructure upgrade of research space will result in consolidating hood-intensive operations in areas that can be economically upgraded to modern air handling standards. In addition, shared facility space for high filed NMR, molecular modeling, and advanced lasers will be developed. The renovation project will specifically impact programs in Physical Chemistry and Laser Spectroscopy, Organic and Bio-organic Chemistry, Inorganic and Materials Chemistry, and Biostructural Chemistry. The renovations, in conjunction with the recruitment of new faculty, will move the Department into a leadership position by providing opportunities in emerging areas that interface with biology, physics, materials science and engineering.
