Pomona College is in the midst of constructing the new and improved Millikan Science Hall, a 75,000 square-foot building where the physics, mathematics, and astronomy departments will be housed. Construction, costing close to $63 million, is ahead of schedule, and the building will most likely open sometime in 2015. The hall is designed by the prestigious San Francisco-based architecture firm, Esherick Homsey Dodge and Davis (EHDD).

Millikan Hall will incorporate a multitude of apparatuses designed to maximize the quality of learning in each department. The space will include 16 physics teaching and research labs, an outdoor physics lab, along with machine, wood, and metal shops. The building will also house a domed digital planetarium, a two-story atrium, a remote observation room for Pomona’s one-meter telescope, and a colloquium room with eating space for 100 people. Lastly, the hall will contain a 50-seat classroom along with other study spaces. This new building will completely replace the previous 1958 Millikan Laboratory.

“Having a specifically built and dedicated space for the Physics department at Pomona will make the faculty more accessible and the department closer than having offices and classes in different buildings. The faculty will also have a better space for their research making the research both more visible and accessible to students and encouraging participation,” Pomona College student Neel Adhiraj Kumar said.

The building is going to include windows that are designed to bring in natural light from the second to the first floor. However, the north side of the building will remain windowless to allow for experiments that require darkness. A spectacular all-angle view of the night sky will be made visible in the digital planetarium where many astronomy students gaze at the wonders of the universe. The digital planetarium will also be available for a larger part of the community by allowing organizations and school programs to study the night sky during special events. Millikan Hall will also follow the requirements necessary to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification.

“The new Millikan building will be an innovative space that will take [us] into the next 50 years. The research labs for the physics department will be far quieter and far cleaner and will be able to house more precise experiments than we were able to do in the old building,” Professor of Physics and Department Chair David Tanenbaum said.

Pomona College hopes to increase their academic stature with the replacement of the outdated Millikan Laboratory of 1958 with a modernized and energy efficient building. Students can expect enhanced learning in the new Millikan Hall as up-to-date equipment and labs are being constructed.