Texas Philanthropist Propels Texas A&M University Into the Forefront of Fundamental Physics and Astronomy
COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire/ — Texas A&M University will commemorate the official dedication of two new $82.5 million physics buildings, the George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy and the George P. Mitchell ’40 Physics Building, this Friday, December 4 at 2 p.m. George P. Mitchell, major benefactor of Texas A&M University and founder of Mitchell Energy & Development Corp., pledged $35 million in 2005 towards the construction of the buildings and personally commissioned noted architect Michael Graves and his firm, Michael Graves & Associates, for their design.
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Establishing a vital presence at the edge of Texas A&M University’s science and engineering campus, the buildings are the first on the University campus to be financed through a public-private partnership involving substantial donor funds. They are named in the Mitchells’ honor and in recognition of their generous support of Texas A&M’s programs in fundamental physics and astronomy, among others.
Together, the two facilities collectively deliver on the Mitchells’ original vision of them becoming the cornerstone of the university’s expanded physics and astronomy programs. In just a few years, Texas A&M will play a major role in the advancement of physics, enhancing the prestige of the entire institution.
“The study of physics is an essential part of a good science education,” Mr. Mitchell said. “I believe that the physics program at Texas A&M will continue to foster important research and attract outstanding students and faculty from all over the world. I hope these academic buildings will provide an innovative and inspiring atmosphere for students and faculty to study, teach, research and enjoy the many exciting challenges of physics.”
The Mitchells are among the most financially supportive benefactors in Texas A&M’s 133-year history. Throughout a successful career in the petroleum industry, Mr. Mitchell, a 1940 distinguished petroleum engineering graduate of Texas A&M University, retained a lifelong interest in physics and astronomy, which he shared with his wife Cynthia.
Their contributions to Texas A&M physics alone, which include funding for nine academic chairs and professorships and Texas A&M’s partnership in the Giant Magellan Telescope, total nearly $52 million since 2002. In 2006, Mr. Mitchell created the Stephen Hawking Chair in Fundamental Physics in 2006 by establishing a unique collaboration between the Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy and the Cambridge Centre for Theoretical Cosmology. The Cambridge-Mitchell collaboration, funded by an annual gift from George Mitchell and matched by Texas A&M University, hosts conferences and workshops in Cambridge and at Texas A&M, as well as exchange visits of faculty, postdoctoral students and undergrads.
“We are extremely grateful to Mr. Mitchell for his generosity and the significant investment that he has made in the future of Texas A&M,” said Interim President R. Bowen Loftin ’71. “The two physics buildings are truly a testament to the significant growth and collective strength of Texas A&M’s programs in physics and astronomy and will add momentum to the university’s progress to be among the very best public universities in America by 2020.”
Construction of the two buildings, which make up the Mitchell physics and astronomy complex, began in 2006 under the leadership of then-Texas A&M President and current U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates. The 197,000-square-foot complex, located at the intersection of Ireland Street and University Avenue, is organized as a six-story, 43,700-square-foot elliptical building for the Institute connected to the five-story L-shaped Physics Building of 158,300 square feet. The building materials, which reflect the immediate context and University standards, include white and ochre brick, metal panels, precast concrete sun control, and insulated glazing.
Tom Rowe, AIA, Principal-in-Charge of the project for Michael Graves & Associates, said, “The buildings are designed to provide a highly synergistic and productive environment for teaching and research in physics and astronomy. To accommodate the many users – including visiting scholars, researchers, faculty and both undergraduate and graduate students – we located common spaces throughout the complex, which encourage social interaction and a sense of community.” For example, within the Institute, a full-height atrium with communicating stairs provides easy visual and physical access between floors. Within the Physics Building, there are group study areas within the lobby and in prefunction spaces to encourage students to get together.
The buildings also feature a primary lecture hall that can be used as one large 468-seat room or converted into three separate 156-seat rooms, as well as a 180-seat auditorium named in honor of world-renowned Cambridge University theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking.
As with other new buildings on the Texas A&M campus, the Mitchell physics buildings are designed to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver standards — a national rating scale developed by the United States Green Building Council to encourage more sustainable buildings.
“Consistent with the scientific mission of both the College of Science and George Mitchell himself, sustainability and green building principles were top priorities for us in the design of the buildings and the site,” said Project Manager Mark Sullivan, AIA, LEED AP, with Michael Graves & Associates.
Their many green features include a revolutionary heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) system that uses natural convection currents in the Mitchell Institute’s six-story atrium as both a return air and smoke exhaustion path. A cistern collects and stores both condensate and rainfall that will be used to irrigate exterior landscapes and Texas A&M’s first rooftop garden, the 10,000 square-foot Cynthia Woods Mitchell Garden, which is located over the three-section lecture hall in the Mitchell Physics Building.
Michael Graves, FAIA, of Michael Graves & Associates, is honored to be a part of such wonderful endeavor. “For me as both an architect and an academic, this project is important in so many ways: it honors George Mitchell as a great benefactor, provides a prestigious university with unparalleled facilities that will attract scholars and students, and contributes positively to the fabric of the campus.”
SOURCE George Mitchell