ARI-R2: Partial Renovation of Kenan Chemistry Laboratories

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).

The goal of this project is to renovate four wet synthetic laboratories (ca. 7300 sq. ft.) at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. These laboratories provide research space to five faculty members in inorganic chemistry. The renovation entails replacement of all current lab benches, fume hoods, and student carrels. Each laboratory will be upgraded to the maximum number of fume hoods allowable by the capacity of the existing HVAC system. Due to the age of the facility (constructed in 1971), asbestos and mercury abatement will be required.

The five faculty members affected by the upgrade are highly renowned researchers, with two of them being members of the National Academy of Sciences. They have significant levels of extramural funding and currently work on NSF-funded projects including mechanistic studies of proton coupled electron transfer, metal-catalyzed diene and olefin polymerizations, finding and exploiting new four-electron donor ligands, chiral porous materials for enantioselective catalysis and separations, and the interrelationship between electronic structure, molecular structure and redox potential.

The project will enhance infrastructure for research. The Department boasts a large number of chemistry majors (635) and a significant percentage of students from underrepresented minorities. The group has about 45 graduate students and postdocs, and 10 undergraduate students. The training of all of the students engaged in these programs will benefit from the upgraded facilities.