To support the expanded experimental components of the curriculum, DMSE opened the Undergraduate Teaching Laboratory (UGTL) in Sept. 2003. The UGTL, which is managed by David Bono, has a wide glass-fronted wall facing the Infinite Corridor so that passersby can see the activities within. The new lab contains equipment specifically intended for undergraduate experiments and designated for student use. Among the equipment that has been built or purchased are “artificial crystals” made of metalllized spheres which diffract microwaves and small UV spectrometers for spectroscopy experiments. The lab also includes a high performance scanning electron microscope, an optical bench, and a new differential scanning calorimeter. There is a biomaterials processing lab and a chemical processing lab. Each member of a team of 4-5 students can collect and analyze data and connect to the MIT network or the internet while in the lab. Distance-enabled experiments are planned so that in the longer term, students from elsewhere (e.g. Cambridge, UK or Singapore) can perform experiments as part of the existing distance learning initiatives at MIT.
This space on the northern side of the first floor of Building 8 was previously classrooms.