UWM Chancellor Mark Mone welcomes guests to the grand opening celebration, offering thanks to everyone involved in the planning, design and construction of the building. (UWM Photo/Elora Hennessey)
UWM Provost Andrew Daire serves as master of ceremonies, recognizing elected officials and VIPs and introducing the speakers. (UWM Photo/Elora Hennessey
Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regent President Amy Bogost speaks about UWM’s dual mission, the importance of R1, UWM’s impact on the state’s economy, and the large number of UWM graduates who remain in the state. (UWM Photo/Elora Hennessey)
State Sen. Duey Strobel (left) and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley light a line of cotton treated with nitric acid, instigating a chemical reaction that produced flames and a bang. (UWM Photo/Elora Hennessey)
Representatives of VJS Construction Services pose for a photo during the grand opening. The company served as general contractor for the construction. (UWM Photo/Elora Hennessey)
Chatting at the grand opening are (clockwise from left) state Sen. LaTonya Johnson, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Provost Andrew Daire, Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce President Dale Kooyenga and state Rep. Kalan Haywood. (UWM Photo/Elora Hennessey)
Students dish out liquid nitrogen ice cream to attendees. (UWM Photo/Elora Hennessey)
Attendees explore some of the communal spaces in the Chemistry Building. (UWM Photo/Elora Hennessey)
UWM PhD student Towheedur Rahman presents his drug development project to Kristin Ciezki, director of the Therapeutic Accelerator Program at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and Erin Pro and Brian Walsh from the UWM Research Foundation. Rahman has worked with on drug discovery and development projects with UWM Professor Mahmun Hossain. (UWM Photo/Elora Hennessey)
Alexander (Leggy) Arnold (left), professor of chemistry and biochemistry and the director Milwaukee Institute for Drug Discovery at UWM, guides a tour of the new spaces. (UWM Photo/Elora Hennessey)
Neal Korfhage demonstrates glassblowing to visitors. Korfhage is a scientific glassblower at UWM, creating and repairing scientific glassware and equipment. He also teaches practical scientific glassblowing skills in a spring semester graduate-level course. (UWM Photo/Elora Hennessey)
UWM Chancellor Mark Mone led an enthusiastic grand opening ceremony for UWM’s brand-new Chemistry Building Friday afternoon.
More than 200 students, faculty, staff, government representatives and friends of UWM packed into one of the building’s many sleek, modern lecture halls for the celebration. It was all punctuated by a flash-bang, fireball-producing chemical reaction – ignited by Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and Wisconsin State Sen. Duey Stroebel – that drew a final round of cheers from the crowd.
The event marked the completion of six years of design and construction, capping a significant milestone in UWM’s commitment to advancing scientific education and research. Mone shared how the facility is a destination for science students and will play a crucial role in educating the next generation of STEM professionals.
More than 3,500 UWM students take chemistry or biochemistry classes each year. They can now do so in a four-story, 163,400-square-foot building that represents a significant leap forward from the previous chemistry facility, which was built in 1972.