This ARI award, with substantial matching support from the State of Wisconsin, will be used to renovate research laboratories for the Chemistry Department on the campus of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Specific floors of the Daniels and Mathews Buildings, constructed 29 and 33 years ago respectively, are targeted for renovation. Standards for the practice of modern experimental chemistry have changed dramatically in the 30 years since the construction of the department's facilities at UW-Madison. Existing research space lacks adequate ventilation for synthetic chemistry, chemical storage, and large instrumentation spaces with appropriate infrastructure for analytical and physical chemistry. Current space is inefficiently configured for a safe working environment. Renovations will include: installing fume hoods and distillation enclosures, upgrading ventilated chemical storage areas, increasing safety measures, creating facilities for small instrumentation, and installing a chilled water cooling loop for major equipment. This project will provide well designed and modern space for programs in biologically related fields of chemistry, synthetic chemistry, polymer chemistry, and in the chemistry of surfaces and interfaces. Clustering of research groups, currently dispersed throughout the building, will facilitate intellectual interactions, enhance access to shared instrumentation, and improve the safe handling of hazardous materials. UW-Madison's Chemistry Department maintains distinguished programs of excellence in both graduate student training and research and has done so consistently over a period of many decades. This renovation project dramatically enhances the Department's ability to continue to achieve this level of excellence in future years.
