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Stop 3: Natural Science Facilities
Heiser Pritzker
The New College campus has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent years, most notably in terms of its science facilities. And with good reason: the Division of Natural Sciences at New College is among the leaders in its field among liberal arts colleges in the United States. In recent years, faculty and students have received grants, patents, and awards from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Department of Education, American Vacuum Society, U.S. Patent Office, and Florida Marine Research Institute. Science facilities on campus include the R. V. Heiser Natural Sciences Complex and the Rhoda and Jack Pritzker Marine Biological Research Center. Both facilities feature state-of-the-art equipment, including laboratories, digitally-equipped teaching auditoriums, large scale aquaria, and more.

The $6.6 million, 34,000 square foot R.V. Heiser Natural Sciences Complex opened in 2001 with classrooms and laboratories for chemistry, biology, computer science, physics and mathematics. It is named for Rolland V. Heiser, a College Trustee and former Foundation president. Special equipment includes a scanning electron microscope in biology and a 24-station chemistry teaching lab with transparent fume hoods that allow panoramic observation for chemistry and biology experiments. The physics lab contains a High-Resolution Raman Spectrograph for analyzing pigments in ancient vessels and paintings, a collaboration with the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. The spectrograph uses a non-destructive, non-invasive dating and preservation technique and was purchased in 2004 with a Department of Education grant awarded to physics professor Mariana Sendova.

At Heiser, there is a greenhouse, herbarium and a variety of sampling equipment for field ecology. The Soo Bong Chae Auditorium is an 88-seat, state-of-the-art, tiered lecture hall for the natural sciences. Adorning the Southeast façade of the complex is "Points of View," a 196 square-foot commissioned mosaic installed by artist Robert Stout of Twin Dolphin Mosaics Stout and his son Willy, both of whom traveled from their home in Ravenna, Italy to finish and install the piece. "Points of View" was commissioned to fulfill an agreement with the Art in State Buildings project, a program stipulating that buildings erected with public funds feature public art.
 
 

 
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