Campus News

Ribbon-cutting to mark opening of physics and astronomy builiding

Ribbon-cutting to mark opening of addition and renovation to physics and astronomy building on University of Georgia campus

Athens, Ga. – A ceremony marking the opening of a new $3.2 million addition and renovation to the Physics and Astronomy Building at the University of Georgia will take place on Tuesday, June 16, beginning at 2 p.m.

The new and renovated space, which is on the north end of the 50-year-old building, will include a new home for UGA’s Center for Simulational Physics, a conference room that will double as classroom space and much-needed additional space for graduate student offices, among many improvements.

“The completion of this important project significantly enhances research and teaching in our department of physics and astronomy,” said Garnett S. Stokes, dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. “The new extension provides a very nice facility for our faculty, staff and students, and it will impress the many international researchers who come to Athens regularly to collaborate with our distinguished faculty in the department.”

Bill Dennis, head of the department of physics and astronomy, agreed.

“This project has been in the planning stages for a decade and has added some 10,400 square feet of new space,” he said. “We think this is tremendous step forward for us and are grateful to the dean’s office and the central administration at UGA for their long-term support in making this happen.”

Originally constructed as part of the burgeoning science complex on UGA’s South Campus in the late 1950s, the building on Cedar Street has long been in need of additional space. In special need of new quarters was the internationally known Center for Simulational Physics, which uses computers to develop techniques for solving problems that are intractable to current analytical theory and to gain insight into physical phenomena where the accuracy and scope of experimental results is limited.

Scheduled to be present for the ceremonies will be University of Georgia President Michael F. Adams, Provost Arnett C. Mace Jr., Vice President for Research David C. Lee, Dean Stokes of the Franklin College, David Landau, director of the Center for Simulational Physics, and faculty members and departmental alumni.

Included in the new space will be state-of-the-art research labs that will aid in recruiting new high-quality faculty to the department.

“The renovated space also includes a lab for Physics 1112/1212 and will accommodate 40 students per lab section,” Dennis added, “so the area will also add great value to what we are able to offer undergraduates in the department.”

In particular, the upgraded facilities for graduate students will help the department in recruiting top students to continue their studies here. There will also be added space for the annual Computer Simulation Studies in Condensed Matter Physics Workshop that draws participants from all over the world.

The event is open to the public, and there will be a reception afterward for faculty, staff and alumni present. For more information, call 706/542-4658.