University of Minnesota to showcase new labs, including first-in-the world ultrafast electron microscope lab

New Gore Annex was funded in part by $10 million gift from GORE-TEX® inventor

What: Special media tour of the new Gore Annex addition to Amundson Hall. This is your exclusive chance to see the new addition to the home of the highly ranked University of Minnesota chemical engineering and materials science programs. Tour stops include the first-in-the-world FEI Tecnai™ Femto ultrafast electron microscope (UEM) lab, a new Valspar materials science lab for undergraduate students, and other labs.

Who: Members of the media only. There will be no tours for the general public at this time. Media tour will be given by Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Head Dan Frisbie.

When: Wednesday, Nov. 12, 10:30 a.m.

Where: Amundson Hall, 421 Washington Ave. SE, Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (11/11/2014) – After more than two years of construction, the University of Minnesota is ready to show off a new $30 million addition and renovation of Amundson Hall, home of the highly ranked University of Minnesota chemical engineering and materials science programs. The building is located near one of the busiest light rail stops in the Twin Cities.

The new 40,000-square-foot expansion of Amundson Hall, named the Gore Annex for University of Minnesota alumnus Bob Gore and inventor of GORE-TEX®, includes several new research and teaching laboratories to accommodate the expansion of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science in response to increasing demand from highly qualified students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. New labs include:

• A first-in-the-world FEI Tecnai™ Femto ultrafast electron microscope (UEM) lab that will be used to examine the dynamics of materials at the atomic and molecular scale over time spans measured in femtoseconds (one millionth of a billionth of a second). Researchers expect that the technology will enable them to conduct fundamental research on the structure and dynamics of matter that could lead to new solutions in energy, medicine and digital technologies.
• A new Valspar materials science lab for undergraduate student teaching that will include testing equipment to characterize the mechanical performance of materials, electron microscopes that image at the nanoscale and other equipment that can measure magnetic, electrical and optical properties.
• Other research labs with applications in biology, medicine and advanced materials.

The renovation was funded in part by a $10 million gift from Robert and Jane Gore. Robert Gore received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University in 1963 and is the inventor of GORE-TEX®. The Dow Chemical Company donated $5 million toward the project. Valspar donated $1 million to equip a new materials science lab for undergraduate students. In addition, $7 million in funding from the State of Minnesota that were part of the University of Minnesota’s allocation for Higher Education Asset Preservation and Replacement (HEAPR) funds were also used to upgrade windows and other infrastructure improvements.

The building’s new windows include one of the first-of-its kind outdoor iridescent displays using 3M’s dichroic film that, when fused between sheets of glass, projects a palette of colors and patterns that shift based on changing sunlight and the viewer’s perspective.

The architectural firm Perkins+Will designed the Gore Annex addition, and Kraus-Anderson served as general contractor on the project. Construction began in March 2012, and the project was completed in November 2014.