Trent University logo  
Daily News

Calendar of Events

Search the Site

Daily News

News Releases

Sporting News

Special Bulletins

Daily News Archives

Weekly Feature Archives

The View from Trent

Trent Magazine

Focus Trent

Build 2000

 

Larry E. Seeley Chemistry Computational Room Dedicated at Chemical Sciences Building Open House

'Chair's Bench' unveiled in honour of former board chair Gary Wolff

Students, faculty, staff, alumni and Board of Governor representatives celebrated the official opening of the Larry E. Seeley Chemistry Computational Room as part of the open house event held October 2 at Trent University's new Chemical Sciences building.

The computational room will allow students to visualize many aspects of modern chemistry. The facility places chemistry education at Trent on the cutting edge of pedagogy, offering students the opportunity to develop an understanding of important chemical concepts in a manner that was impossible before the advent of modern computing. The computational room includes workstations to accommodate 12 students and an instructor.

The $18.8 million facility was built with funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the provincial Super Build and Ontario Innovation Trust programs, and with the support of donors. In 2003, the building received an award of merit from the Canadian Architect Magazine for its architectural significance. Architects for the project were Teeple Architects in Association with Shore Tilbe Irwin and Partners.

Dr. Larry Seeley served as president and CEO of SGS Lakefield Research until his retirement in June, 2004. Holder of a Ph.D. degree in chemistry from the University of Toronto, he served on Trent's Board of Governors between 1996 to 2003 and was appointed as an Honorary Board Member in October, 2003. He was joined at the ceremony by his wife Joan.

The Chemical Sciences Building is home to the Chemistry Department and the Water Quality Centre. It includes 23 offices for Chemistry and other faculty and staff, 11 research labs plus one expansion lab, four chemistry teaching labs and preparation labs, a problem set lab, and the Larry E. Seeley Chemistry Computational Room. The facility has state of the art lab services including fumehoods, water, data, vacuum, gas, pipelined Nitrogen and Argon gas.

Also unveiled at the open house was the Chair's Bench, a permanent tribute to Mr. Gary Wolff, a Trent alum (1971), who served as Board Chair between 1999 to 2002. The Chair's Bench is located on the CSB podium and is a tribute to Gary Wolff's 14 years of service to Trent University.

Photo 1: (left to right) Board of Governors member Kate Ramsay, Dr. Larry Seeley, Joan Seeley and President Bonnie Patterson following the open house at Trent University's new Chemical Sciences Building on October 2. Dr. Seeley was presented with a print of Chancellor Roberta Bondar's photograph Sirmilik Hoodoos Panorama .

Photo 2: Mr. Gary Wolff and President Bonnie Patterson by The Chair's Bench on the CSB podium. The bench is a tribute to Mr. Wolff's 14 years of service to Trent University.

Posted October 4, 2004

Return to Trent University Home
Go to Trent University Site Index
A to Z
Maintained by the Communications Office
Last Updated October 21, 2004