Groundbreaking for innovation at Yale’s Upper Science Hill Building Complex

On September 30, members of Yale Physics attended the groundbreaking ceremony for Yale’s Upper Science Hill Building Complex.   

The Upper Science Hill Development program includes an addition to Wright Lab (WLA), a new Advanced Instrumentation Development Center (AIDC) connecting research instrumentation efforts across the University, and a new Physical Sciences and Engineering Building (PSEB). The complex has a footprint bordered on three sides by Edwards Street, Prospect Street, and Whitney Avenue. Construction began in June 2024 and is expected to be completed in 2030. 

Dignitaries attending the groundbreaking included Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, University of Connecticut (UConn) President Radenka Marić ,Yale University President Maurie McInnis, Yale Provost Scott Strobel, and Yale’s vice provost for research Michael Crair.  Karsten Heeger—the Eugene Higgins Professor and Chair of Physics and Director of Wright Lab—who co-chaired the faculty committee for the project, along with Sohrab Ismail-Beigi, was also in attendance and named as a contributor during the presentations. 

The complex is a major effort to realize the strategic scientific priorities identified by the University, in particular, the facilities’ focus on both quantum science and instrumentation development. 

Quoted in a Yale News article about the groundbreaking, Heeger said, “This will be a transformational project that brings together departments and crosses boundaries… It is vitally important to fundamental science in both the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Yale Engineering, as we become one of the premiere locations for quantum science and engineering.” 

The Wright Lab addition will provide new research laboratories, office areas, and interaction spaces for Wright Lab’s program in experimental nuclear, particle, and astrophysics. Research group offices and labs that are currently housed in Wright Lab West (WLW) will move to the new addition, in preparation for the demolition of WLW to make way for the PSEB. The addition will also create a central interaction space adjacent to the new Advanced Instrumentation Development Center (AIDC). 

The AIDC builds upon the success of Wright Lab’s instrumentation efforts, including those coordinated through the Advanced Prototyping Center. 

Quoted in a recent article in the Yale Alumni Magazine, Sheri Miller, Yale’s senior director of sciences campus development said, “People from all over campus, whether they’re in a science discipline or not, can come to this facility and work with the scientists here…  [Due, in part, to the glass facade of the building,] It’ll be a transparent and welcoming beacon to the science that’s going on inside the [AIDC] building.” 

For more information on the details of Yale’s Upper Science Hill Development program and the groundbreaking ceremony, please see the articles linked below.