No place like dome: New science building dedicated

The shiny astronomical dome, 12 feet in diameter, that tops off the new Science Learning and Research Center at U-M-Dearborn is only one of the truly distinctive features of the building.

Checking out the spacious new Science Learning and Research Center at U-M-Dearborn are Donald Bord (left), professor of physics and associate dean of the College of Arts, Sciences and Letters; Maggie Martin, assistant to the provost; Robert Gassel, assistant vice chancellor for finance and director of Financial, Budget and General Services; Cynthia Moehring, administrative specialist in the Chancellor's Office; Kathleen Herr, student union director; Monica Porter, director of the Women's Resource Center; and Linda Brown, assistant vice chancellor for enrollment management and registrar. (Photo by Terry Gallagher)

Among other spaces, the building includes a 100-seat lecture hall with flexible seating that will encourage group work, labs that allow students to work with each other and with faculty members on projects, and support spaces providing scientific instrumentation that can be used in several different disciplines.

The SLRC opened for classes this semester and was to be dedicated formally in an Oct. 27 ceremony in the building atrium. A colloquium featuring Morris White, associate professor of pediatrics at the Harvard University Medical School, was to follow the dedication ceremony. White received his bachelor's degree from U-M-Dearborn in 1977.

His presentation, on "Nutrient Homeostasis and its Relation to Obesity, Diabetes and Longevity," was to be followed by tours of the building. In the evening, guests were to be invited to tour the astronomical observatory and stargaze.

The new building will allow the campus to expand programs involving environmental, cellular and molecular studies and science education, says Paul Zitzewitz, professor of physics at U-M-Dearborn and former chair of the Department of Natural Sciences who was involved in planning the project.

"The labs, classrooms and other spaces all are designed to help our students prepare to enter graduate or professional schools or into businesses or industries that need employees skilled in modern laboratory techniques in the natural sciences," Zitzewitz says.

When construction is complete, the dome atop the building will house a 16-inch telescope supported by a $144,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. The third-floor deck of the building also has five other stations to mount telescopes.

In addition to its use in astronomy classes, the telescope will help advanced students work on independent projects that may lead to publishable data, says Donald Bord, professor of physics at U-M-Dearborn. The observatory area can be isolated from the rest of the building for community programs—including sky-watching nights—and is completely accessible.

The SLRC, designed by the architectural firm The Stubbins Associates, includes approximately 15,000 square feet and cost approximately $10 million, with 75 percent of the funding coming from the state of Michigan. The campus is funding the remaining 25 percent.

National studies have shown that science programs that sustain student interest are those that generate a learning community that includes students and faculty members, Zitzewitz says.

"The design of this building will serve to enhance our learning community in many ways, by allowing students to experience meaningful investigations in a community where faculty are committed to seeing students as partners in learning," says Vaman Naik, professor of physics and chair of the Department of Natural Sciences.

A student gathering space on the building's second floor was dedicated in memory of Linda Fisher, a biology professor who died in 2002. Contributions from Fisher's colleagues and former students supported the naming of the room, as well as a scholarship fund in her name.