Office for Resources & Planning

New College Facilities

Mathematics and Science Center

The Mathematics and Science Center (MSC) was created by Emory University to foster scientific collaboration among the Departments of Mathematics and Computer Science, Physics, and Environmental Studies.

Key Facts

• Architect: Cooper Carry
• General Contractor: The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company
• Start Date: December 2000
• Completion Date: July 2002
• Square Footage: 138,206
• Cost: $40,000,000

This magnificent building provides new teaching and research space as well as a satellite science library. Facilities include a planetarium, observatory, outdoor research and teaching space, physics shop, wet and dry laboratories, computational laboratories, 24 classrooms, 180-seat auditorium, and a spectacular three-story atrium space. The Mathematics and Science Center was designed and constructed using LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) principles, and attained a LEED certified rating.

Physics

Assignable area: 35,000 square feet
Equipped with a 35-foot diameter dome and Zeiss projection system, the Department of Physics planetarium/classroom functions as a medium-sized planetarium for the teaching of astronomy. With the projector stored below the floor, the room transforms into a multimedia classroom with unique sound, projection, and lighting capabilities. Beneath a 16-foot dome high atop the east wing, the observatory houses a DFM 24-inch diameter, fully automated, Cassegrain reflecting telescope. Ten open-air stations on the rooftop plaza provide "hands-on" experience with small telescopes for night sky observation. The new introductory physics teaching laboratories combine the best in facilities for teaching the process of physical measurement with the best in facilities for data analysis. State-of-the-art research laboratories facilitate experimental and computational physics research programs, which form the basis of the graduate program and greatly enrich the undergraduate curriculum as well.

Mathematics & Computer Science

Assignable area: 23,070 square feet
New physical facilities will allow the department to expand major and graduate programs and cooperative programs with Physics, Chemistry, and Economics. Excellent teaching infrastructure, computational and audio-visual (AV) support, and room for expansion are now available for the first time. The computer lab includes both an open lab and an adjacent high tech classroom that supports interactive instructional and computational capabilities. The 70-seat classroom provides state-of-the-art AV and computing tools. The data center has ample space for a variety of servers, network, AV, and security hardware. The Math & CS data network supports instructional needs and provides a distributed computing environment for high performance computational research. Expanded quarters for graduate students include specialty spaces such as student team rooms for tutoring and advising and project rooms for computational and visualization hardware.

Environmental Studies

Assignable area: 9,400 square feet
The new Department of Environmental Studies' teaching laboratories include a wet lab, dry lab, computer lab, and outdoor roof patio lab. These new spaces will allow for an increase in class/lab enrollment and for the offering of lab instruction on water quality and quantity, meteorology, art history, and building ecology. The conference room was designed to facilitate interaction among students and faculty by creating an open and common space without doors. Situated in a corner of the building and surrounded by windows, the conference room is used for meetings, student-teacher conferences, and small seminars. New research spaces offer laboratory facilities for faculty to conduct research on petrology, infectious diseases in wildlife populations, butterfly ecology, and conservation. In addition, the department can now provide space for student research projects.

Science Library

Assignable area: 2,000 square feet
The Mathematics & Science Center Library supports the sciences by working closely with faculty, staff, and students to assist their research and instruction needs. The majority of the collection will be online.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)

See video: Green buildings go to school, CNN's Jacqui Jeras looks at two colleges committed to environmentally friendly construction.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program was established by the United States Green Building Council (USGBBC) to promote environmentally friendly whole building design and construction practices. Embedded in this process is the inclusion of green building materials which increases the demand for materials and supplies that are resource conscious, support recycling efforts and promote the use of locally available materials. This process helps to stimulate the local company and ensures there is a marketplace place for green products. The competitive nature of the LEED program encourages designers to think in new and innovative ways to help create buildings that conserve energy, water and the natural environment. LEED is a response to the need for more sustainable development in a society that is expending natural resources at an alarming rate.

Emory University has committed to incorporating LEED principles when undertaking new construction or renovation projects. The LEED program is a "Green Building Rating System" in which a project earns points in predetermined categories, which includes, sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovative design process.

Currently, Emory has several LEED buildings ranging from the "Certified" to "Gold" levels with many others in the process of applying for LEED. The Math & Science Center attained a certified LEED rating.

Site Planning

• This building is served by Emory's alternative transportation system which consists of clean burning natural gas and electric buses which reduces local emissions and results in no net increase in vehicle parking.
• 8 bus routes are within a quarter mile of the building.
• 28 bicycle rack and four showers were installed to support those who bike to work.
• The site provided over 60,000 square feet, which was restored with native or adaptive vegetation.
• An aggressive tree save plan was implemented and the building footprint was designed to minimize impact on the surrounding woodlands.
• Landscape and exterior design featured reduced the heat island on the project site.

Water

• A storm water retention vault collects rainwater for on-site irrigation.
• A waterless urinal was installed as well as low aerators on faucets to reduce water consumption by 30%.
• A savings of 2.8 million gallons of water per year was realized from a closed loop laser cooling system.

Energy

• 20% reduction in energy use was realized by using high efficiency lighting controls and HAVC systems.
• An additional commissioning plan was implemented.

Materials

• 29% of the total cost of materials used in construction were manufactured within a 500 mile radius, thus decreasing fossil fuel use in transportation.
• 78% of the materials used had a recycled content.
• Trees cleared from the site were mulched and used on site for landscaping & erosion control.

Indoor Environmental Quality

• A construction indoor air quality plan was developed and incorporated during construction and immediately before occupancy. Merv 8 and 14 filters were used during construction and a two-week building flush out with 100% outside air was performed.
• The building incorporates low-v.o.c paints, carpet and adhesives and is a non-smoking facility.