Coming soon: Simon Hall

When chemistry professor David Clemmer conducts his labs, his students are in two different places. Some are in a lab that is connected to his office, and others are in a lab down the hall. \n"Everything I do is split between these two labs," Clemmer said. \nLuckily, the former head of the chemistry department will not have to deal with an awkward set up for too much longer. Currently nearing completion and set to officially open its doors to classes by February 2007, Simon Hall will give Clemmer -- as well as many more professors and researchers -- the needed space to teach and carry out their experiments. \n"For the first time I'll be able to interact with everybody at the same time," Clemmer said. \nThe 140,000-square-foot building will accommodate scientists from several different disciplines. Originally called Multidisciplinary Science Building Phase I, the building was renamed after a $9 million gift from the Simon family. \nSimon Hall has been in the planning process for several years. Clemmer said he began hearing about the building when he first arrived in Bloomington in 1995 and has been involved in its planning committees since 1999. For the past seven years, professors and members of administration have given up precious time in order to design Simon Hall. \n"There are people who were heroic in our school getting that building," Clemmer said. "I really appreciate the leadership shown by (senior faculty members)."\nIn the past 20 years, science has changed dramatically. The human genome has been completed, sheep have been cloned and entire new fields of science have been developed. But as science has evolved, IU's research space has remained nearly the same. In terms of square footage, IU is dead last in the Big Ten for lab space. Simon Hall, along with plans for Multidisciplinary Science Buildings II and III, is going to change that. \nAs of right now, the building will provide research space for cell biologists, geneticists, analytical chemists, biophysicists, microbiologists, biochemists and molecular biologists. For Clemmer, the diversity that will exist under one roof is the most attractive feature of Simon Hall. \n"It's not just mainstream, hard-core science anymore," Clemmer said. "There's an understanding between scientists that it's a collaborative field, more so than ever before." \nSimon Hall hopes to eliminate any separation that exists between science departments. Just recently, Clemmer said one of his chemistry students conducted an experiment with a psychology student and got interesting results. \n"We're hoping for more interactions like that," he said. "Simon Hall is a very important first step for science."\nAlthough plenty of research will take place inside Simon Hall once the building is complete, geology professor Enrique Merino did not wait for the ribbon cutting before using the site for research. \nMerino asked for permission to enter the site early to look at the red clay and limestone exposed on the hole's walls. Then, after taking samples and studying them with a microscope, Merino and graduate student Amlan Banerjee learned something radically new about the origin of "terra rossa", the reddish brown clay that is found on limestone. \n"I'd been studying that clay for some time, but I had never seen it like this," he said. "(In the hole for Simon Hall) we saw very clear evidence that the clay grows chemically." \nIf the work of Merino is any indication, the newest building on the IU-Bloomington campus could be in store for tremendous discovery. University officials are hoping students will better be able to interact, the science department will thrive and professors will gain some much needed space.\n"We are confident the people who move into Simon Hall will like the spaces they inhabit and be able to do their work effectively," said Associate University Architect Rich Thompson in a statement.