Weeks Hall addition to be dedicated May 6

A sparkling new addition to Weeks Hall, home to UW–Madison’s Department of Geology and Geophysics, will be dedicated next week.

The addition, which features about 25,000 square feet of new lab, library, office and instructional space, will be dedicated by, among others, College of Letters and Science dean Gary Sandefur and State Rep. Spencer Black at 10:30 a.m. Friday, May 6.

The new facility will have state-of-the-art undergraduate and graduate instructional laboratories, as well as research lab complexes for two new centers, one in the area of nanoparticle science and mineralogy and one in the booming field of geomicrobial science. In addition, a new lecture hall, the William and Maureen Miller Lecture Hall, is part of the new complex as is a greatly expanded geology library, known as the C.K. Leith Geology Library.

From 1:15-4:45 p.m. on May 6, the department will host a conference featuring some of the university’s most distinguished alumni. Speakers include former NASA astronaut and adjunct UW–Madison faculty member Harrison Schmitt, University of Utah professor Marjorie Chan, Penn State professor of geosciences Richard Alley, California Institute of Technology professor of geochemistry John Eiler, and University of Montana business professor Raymond Murray.

All events will be held in the new addition of Weeks Hall and are free and open to the public.