Plans to refurbish Science Hill taking shape

PATRICK MCGARVEY/YH MOVING ON UP: In the next few years, part of the physics department might move to Kline Biology Tower as Yale rebuilds Science Hall.

The new Science Hill is but a twinkle in Yale's eye right now. But the University's vision is bold and far-reaching, and now a plan is beginning to take shape for the $400 million it has allocated to construction for the science departments over the next 20 years.

The grant is an attempt to aid an area Yale acknowledges it has ignored for too long. "In general, Yale has suffered from neglect to the science facilities, especially on Science Hill, and we are determined to correct that," said Deputy Provost for Science and Technology Pierre Hohenberg.

President Richard Levin, GRD '74, said planning has been underway for a while. "Yale has had a series of faculty committees over the past three years to work on an orderly, reasonable sequence to have for the project," he said. "The planning process assumed 20 years. Of course, we hope to accelerate that." The first 10 years of the project will focus mainly on the biology and chemistry departments, while the second decade will target the physics department.

Frank Firk, a retired physics professor, doubts Yale's project will improve the school's standing in the sciences. "[Competitiveness] won't be greatly affected," he said. "Twenty million dollars a year in this business is not much."

Yale's chemistry department will be the first to change location as Science Hill is rebuilt. Upon the completion of a new chemistry building, the older Sterling Chemistry Laboratory will be vacated to undergo major renovations. Sterling will eventually house the molecular, cellular, and developmental biology department. "In order to start this process [of relocation], there has to be new construction," chemistry chair Donald Crothers said, though he noted that his department's future location is still being debated.

According to Charles Baltay, chair of the physics department, tentative plans include moving part of the physics department to Kline Biology Tower, which will be refitted for that purpose.

Renovations will also sweep across the School of Forestry, which is primed to receive a new facility for environmental science. According to Forestry School Dean William H. Smith, construction could begin as early as the fall of this year. The site of the new facility could be the current location of Bingham laboratory, which is adjacent to the Peabody Museum. "We have been engaged in the whole Science Hill process," Smith said. "Our interest is to be reconfigured physically, and consolidate into one or two buildings."

Hohenberg also confirmed that the University plans to re-landscape Sachem Wood, located at the northern foot of Science Hill, to beautify the area and harmonize its design with the rest of campus. "On the central campus, there are spaces and courtyards delimited by buildings," Hohenberg said. "On Science Hill, it's a hodgepodge."

Yale's bold plan seems innovative, but the University may be playing follow-the-leader. While Yale has managed to keep up with many top schools in its allocation of funds to science departments, it still faces stiff competition from Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Last month, Harvard announced that it will invest between $150 million and $200 million over the next five years to further scientific education and research. MIT currently has a construction project underway for a set of buildings that will be used for computing, information science, artificial intelligence, and linguistics. And five years ago, MIT completed construction on a 250,000-square-foot, $70-million building now used for teaching and research in the biological sciences.

On the other hand, many Ivy League schools, including Brown and Columbia, don't have the large-scale plans of Yale or Harvard, but they have continued to build gradually. Last October, Brown constructed a $30 million high-tech building for interdisciplinary sciences which will integrate chemistry, the environmental sciences, and the geological sciences. Columbia, due to lack of physical space, is constantly renovating its science buildings. A $5-million renovation is underway to accommodate a new environmental science center.

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