[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/chem_labs_open.jpg” caption=”Chemistry labs”]Future scientists, engineers and health researchers studying at McMaster University are honing their skills in new chemistry labs that rival the industry standard.

The University community and guests, including Ontario Labour Minister Brad Clark, celebrated today the official opening of the newly retrofitted undergraduate chemistry labs that are equipped
with state-of-the-art fume hoods, measurement tools and lab equipment.

The $11.3 million retrofitted labs feature more than 150 new fume hoods that will allow first and second year students to conduct experiments in a controlled setting that mirrors the industrial
environment.

McMaster is the only university in Canada to offer chemistry courses to first year students in labs equipped with fume hoods.

The University has more than 3,000 students from various disciplines enrolled in Level 1 and 2 chemistry courses. The new labs, located in the Arthur Bourns Building, span four floors and occupy 20,000 sq. ft. of newly-renovated space.

The renovated chemistry labs are part of McMaster's strategy to provide top-notch facilities to enhance the learning experience for students.

“We believe in delivering excellence in a superior learning environment,” said McMaster President Peter George. “This initiative bolsters our commitment to providing our students with outstanding
facilities in which to pursue academic excellence and develop skills that will benefit them throughout their university careers and beyond.”

The Ontario government contributed $3.03 million through the SuperBuild program to complete the undergraduate chemistry labs.

“To remain competitive in the global market, Ontario must embrace technological change and encourage cutting-edge research in a safe and healthy environment,” said Clark, member of provincial parliament for Stoney Creek. “Institutes of higher learning that simulate the experience of the workplace will help to ensure that today's students will be tomorrow's safe, innovative and productive scientists and entrepreneurs.”

At McMaster, an integral part of undergraduate education in chemistry involves training in laboratory work  the practical aspects of the science.

Students learn how to handle, analyze and manipulate chemical substances, including toxic ones, in a safe and environmentally conscious manner. They also learn how to transform small molecules
into larger ones, as they must do if they are to understand how advances in technology and medicine are really made.

Professor William Leigh, chair of the Department of Chemistry, believes the new facilities will contribute to a refinement of the entire undergraduate chemistry curriculum at McMaster.

“These are exciting times for those of us who teach chemistry at this University,” said Leigh. “The new laboratory facilities give us the foundation we need to take our undergraduate curriculum, at
all levels, in directions that we could only dream about before.

“The difference will be in the types of experiments and experiences we can expose our students to. The new labs will also allow us to develop our high school outreach program, bringing students on campus and sparking their interest in studying chemistry, preferably here at
McMaster.”

Photo caption: Students Hitesh Bhanabhai, second-year chemistry, and Stephanie Krakar, second-year honours biological chemistry, explain their experiment to Minister of Labour Brad Clark, in the newly retrofitted undergraduate chemistry labs. Photo credit: Chantall Van Raay