Undergraduate senior Mustafa Syed testifies for new chemistry lab building at state capital

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (2/1/2023) – University of Minnesota undergraduate student Mustafa Syed testified in front of the Minnesota House and Senate Capital Investment committees in St. Paul in late January. Syed is an undergraduate senior, testifying in support of the Department of Chemistry’s proposed Undergraduate Chemistry Teaching Laboratory Building.

Syed shared his perspective in front of the Minnesota House Capital Investment Committee on Wednesday, January 18th, and then with the Senate Capital Investment Committee the following day. His testimony supports the department's request for funding for the new Chemistry Undergraduate Teaching Laboratories. This proposed building will replace, improve, and consolidate outdated general and organic chemistry teaching laboratories and support spaces, currently in Smith and Kolthoff Halls, to Fraser Hall on the East Bank campus. Renovated and new spaces will include: eight general chemistry, four life sciences, and six organic chemistry teaching labs; tutoring and informal student collaboration, professional offices; renovated general purpose classrooms; and future nuclear magnetic resonance space.

“I’m graduating this May, and I know that I won’t be able to use the new facility. Still, I’m happy knowing that - with your support - the next generation of students will be provided with an experience that allows them to find a passion for chemistry like I have in an environment that lives up to our status as a world-class institution because of our work here today,” Syed said in his January 18th testimony in front of the House Capital Investment Committee.

Representatives from each investment committee will visit and tour the Smith Hall teaching labs in the spring 2023 semester. If the Chemistry Undergraduate Teaching Laboratories proposal is accepted for funding this year, the building is slated for a fall 2026 completion.