UC San Diego Physics Department Celebrates Mayer Hall Open House

October 13, 2008

The UCSD community is invited to an open house showcasing the expansion of Mayer Hall from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 22. The event, featuring tours and physics demonstrations, will begin on the Mayer Hall South Patio. For information, directions and to RSVP, email physcievents@ucsd.edu or call (858) 822-3257.

Facing increasing enrollment for its physics major, UC San Diego gathered state and private support to accommodate more students at Mayer Hall, the primary location for the department of physics. Construction of the long-awaited addition is finally complete and includes 45,000 assignable square feet of office, research laboratory and teaching laboratory space, distributed over five floors. UCSD’s department of physics serves more than 15,000 students a year.  A wide range of research areas include astronomy and astrophysics, biophysics, condensed matter, high energy, nonlinear dynamics and plasma physics.

The hall is named after Nobel Laureate Maria Goeppert-Mayer, who shared the 1963 Nobel Prize in physics. Fundraising is currently underway to provide for critical department needs that could not be met by the State of California’s construction fund, including equipment, faculty and student support, educational outreach and more. For information, please call (858) 822-3257 or visit http://physicalsciences.ucsd.edu.