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New Hudson Hall Expansion Offers Science Students Cutting-edge Classrooms, Labs and More

It’s the state of the art … in science.

SUNY Plattsburgh’s new Hudson Hall expansion provides a modern, spacious learning environment for students in the college’s chemistry, physics and environmental science programs. 

The $16.2 million addition boasts 27,000 square feet of new laboratories with all-new equipment, including a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer, which is a device used to determine the structure of organic compounds.

“It has all the newest capabilities for research,” said Dr. Linda Luck, the chair of SUNY Plattsburgh’s chemistry department.

Building Itself Will Teach Environmentally Friendly Practices

The design of the addition itself – which is built to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards – will also be a teaching tool for green practices. The laboratory fume hood and ventilation/exhaust systems, for example, are super efficient and will actually reduce energy costs. Special shading will keep interior heat down in the warmer months, and energy-efficient walls will prevent heat loss during the winter.

Outside, landscaping will use rocks from regional quarries, ranging from the igneous/metamorphic rocks of the Adirondack uplands to the sedimentary limestones and sandstones of the Champlain lowlands. Likewise, the tree and shrub plantings will represent vegetation from the Adirondacks and around Lake Champlain.

“They will be arranged to represent the sequence on the ground with interpretive information to support our classroom offerings in subjects such as geology, petrology, plant ecology, botany, and so on,” said Robert Fuller, the director of the earth and environmental science program.

Labs for Lake Champlain Research

Hudson Hall is also home to the Lake Champlain Research Institute, which will have new labs as well, including one for water-quality analysis. These labs will be used extensively by students and faculty from the Center for Earth and Environmental Science both in research and classroom/lab activities.

“We are happy to have the opportunity to involve students in some cutting-edge research using that lab,” said Tim Mihuc, the director of the institute and the coordinator of the natural science graduate program.

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