Chevron Science Center
Encyclopedia
Chevron Science Center is a landmark academic building at 219 Parkman Avenue in Pittsburgh
, Pennsylvania
, United States
on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh
. The 15-story facility, completed in 1974, was designed by Kuhn, Newcomer & Valentour and houses the university's chemistry department.
campus. The $14.7 million cost of Chevron Science Center was partially offset by a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation
. Its completion brought together under one roof many chemistry facilities that were, at the time, scattered among eight different buildings on Pitt's campus. Upon its completion, it was the largest school building for chemistry instruction and research east of the Mississippi River
. The building also received a second place award in the "Lab of the Year" contest conducted by Industrial Research magazine. It contains a 500-seat auditorium dedicated to Lauren H. Ashe, a 1914 Pitt alumnus who was a pioneer in the pharmaceutical industry.
The building was named in recognition of Chevron Corporation
's donation of its then recently acquired $100 million, 85 acre (340,000 m2), fully equpped Gulf Oil
Applied Research Center
to the university in 1985.
In 2008, a $5.5 million overhaul of the 14th floor was completed and included the creation of new organic chemistry research laboratories. The first floor of Chevron has received a new electronic reference library and a new café The Bunsen Brewery. A $32.4 million for an addition and renovation for Chevron is planned to begin in 2010.
The building serves as the primary facility for the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Chemistry including its primary lecture halls, teaching laboratories, and research facilities for organic, inorganic, biological, analytical and physical chemistry; nanotechnology; alternative and renewable energy; and drug and transplant therapies.
porcelain enamel mural entitled "Science and Mankind" is displayed Inside Chevron Science Center near its main auditoriums. Depicting a man and woman with exposed skeletal and muscular systems touching hands, signifying the beginning of life, colors used on the figures represent different human cells with squares and triangles around them symbolize the birth of the computer age. Measuring 40 by 30 feet, it is said to be the work Cantiini was most proud of.
, who helped develop magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI). Other alumni and researchers in the department have made important discoveries in fields like recombinant DNA technology, nanotechnology, and alternative fuels, and have pioneered innovative drug and transplant therapies.http://www.umc.pitt.edu/tour/tour-113.html
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
. The 15-story facility, completed in 1974, was designed by Kuhn, Newcomer & Valentour and houses the university's chemistry department.
History
Since 1910 the site had been occupied by the former State Hall, the first building erected upon Pitt's move in the early 20th century to the OaklandOakland (Pittsburgh)
Oakland is the academic, cultural, and healthcare center of Pittsburgh and is Pennsylvania's third largest "Downtown". Only Center City Philadelphia and Downtown Pittsburgh can claim more economic and social activity than Oakland...
campus. The $14.7 million cost of Chevron Science Center was partially offset by a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
. Its completion brought together under one roof many chemistry facilities that were, at the time, scattered among eight different buildings on Pitt's campus. Upon its completion, it was the largest school building for chemistry instruction and research east of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. The building also received a second place award in the "Lab of the Year" contest conducted by Industrial Research magazine. It contains a 500-seat auditorium dedicated to Lauren H. Ashe, a 1914 Pitt alumnus who was a pioneer in the pharmaceutical industry.
The building was named in recognition of Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
's donation of its then recently acquired $100 million, 85 acre (340,000 m2), fully equpped Gulf Oil
Gulf Oil
Gulf Oil was a major global oil company from the 1900s to the 1980s. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies...
Applied Research Center
University of Pittsburgh Applied Research Center
The University of Pittsburgh Applied Research Center, commonly known as U-PARC, is a one-million-square foot , high-security research park campus of the University of Pittsburgh that is located from Downtown Pittsburgh in Harmar Township, Pennsylvania adjacent to the Route 28 expressway and I-76,...
to the university in 1985.
In 2008, a $5.5 million overhaul of the 14th floor was completed and included the creation of new organic chemistry research laboratories. The first floor of Chevron has received a new electronic reference library and a new café The Bunsen Brewery. A $32.4 million for an addition and renovation for Chevron is planned to begin in 2010.
The building serves as the primary facility for the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Chemistry including its primary lecture halls, teaching laboratories, and research facilities for organic, inorganic, biological, analytical and physical chemistry; nanotechnology; alternative and renewable energy; and drug and transplant therapies.
Mural
A 1973 Virgil CantiniVirgil Cantini
Virgil David Cantini was an enamelist,sculptor and educator. He was well known for innovation with enamel and steel and received both local and national recognition for his work, including honorary awards, competitive prizes and commissions, along with a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1957...
porcelain enamel mural entitled "Science and Mankind" is displayed Inside Chevron Science Center near its main auditoriums. Depicting a man and woman with exposed skeletal and muscular systems touching hands, signifying the beginning of life, colors used on the figures represent different human cells with squares and triangles around them symbolize the birth of the computer age. Measuring 40 by 30 feet, it is said to be the work Cantiini was most proud of.
Department of Chemistry
The department of chemistry, founded in 1875, is among the nation's largest undergraduate chemistry departments. It also has awarded more than 1,000 doctorate degrees and counts among its alumni Nobel Prize-winner Paul LauterburPaul Lauterbur
Paul Christian Lauterbur was an American chemist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2003 with Peter Mansfield for his work which made the development of magnetic resonance imaging possible.Dr...
, who helped develop magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging , nuclear magnetic resonance imaging , or magnetic resonance tomography is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to visualize detailed internal structures...
(MRI). Other alumni and researchers in the department have made important discoveries in fields like recombinant DNA technology, nanotechnology, and alternative fuels, and have pioneered innovative drug and transplant therapies.http://www.umc.pitt.edu/tour/tour-113.html