New Chemistry building has the right composition for the University of Tennessee and the state’s workforce

Artist rendering of the new chemistry building (Photo by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville)

Groundbreaking for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s much-anticipated new chemistry building is set for next September.

The Tennessee General Assembly approved $165.5 million in next year’s budget for the new building, which is the largest investment ever funded for a single higher education project, according to a news release from the university.

The university’s existing chemistry building, Buehler Hall, is sliding off the hill it sits on and will be completely inoperable within a decade. The building additionally suffers from inadequate heating, old plumbing, and expensive power outages.

University leaders have long said the building’s deficiencies are a problem for both higher education and Tennessee’s economy.  UT ranks second in the nation for polymer science, a subset of chemistry, and the chemical industry itself has invested more than $400 million in the state over the last six years, creating more than 2,000 jobs according to the university.

“We thank Governor Bill Lee and the state General Assembly for their transformative support of the new chemistry building,” said College of Arts and Sciences Interim Executive Dean Robert Hinde. “This building will be a major step for future innovation at UT, enabling us to attract the most promising students and top faculty to UT’s world-class chemistry department and meeting the increasing demand to provide high-quality chemistry education and training for the next generation of leaders in this field.”

Viktor Nemykin (Photo by the University of Tennessee)

The building project cleared another hurdle this week when lawmakers on the State Building Commission unanimously approved the design phase of the project.

Lawmakers voted following a presentation by Kelly Headden, who serves as the Executive Vice-President and COO of Barber McMurry Architects. Headden said the 8-floor, 163,000 square foot building will have interactive technology for visitors and a uniform design plan that includes offices and meeting spaces surrounding lab space in the middle of each floor.

“We’ve taken great care to stack those to minimize the cost and expense as we go up through the facility,” said Headden.

The new building will additionally include two 50-seat lecture halls, one 50-seat study room, 28 research labs, 3 teaching labs, and 12 collaborative spaces. Currently, the university’s chemistry faculty and staff are doing their work spread out over five buildings, including Buehler Hall.

 “The most exciting part to me is having spaces for collaboration and community building,” said Professor and Department of Chemistry Head Viktor N. Nemykin. “The new building will also improve our hiring and visibility.”

The new building will open across from the student union and adjacent to Taylor Law School in 2029.