---
title: Tour the New Physical Sciences Complex
date: 2014-02-12T16:03:00-05:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/tour-new-physical-sciences-complex-8248cec8-556c-414e-beba-375e87d94303"
section: Articles
---
# Tour the New Physical Sciences Complex

*February 12, 2014* — by [Maryland Today Staff](/author/maryland-today-staff)



Take a tour through the new Physical Sciences Complex. Physics professor Chris Monroe will be utilizing this state-of-the-art facility for his quantum mechanics research. Learn more about how he is using atoms to create superfast computers here.

- The building has been under construction since 2010, and cost $128 million.
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- It has space for collaborators from federal agencies such as NASA, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Institutes of Health.
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- PSC labs have extra-thick concrete floors to minimize vibrations, which can throw off sensitive experiments. Labs also have highly precise temperature control—within a half-degree Fahrenheit. Elevators and electrical panels have also been shielded to minimize electromagnetic interference.
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- The building’s hallways are very wide, to encourage conversation in public spaces.
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- Many hallways are lined with whiteboards, for those moments when an idea strikes, or an equation must be worked out immediately.
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- The building’s design encourages collaboration, with extra staircases between floors so researchers are more likely to run into each other.
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- It features a multistory elliptical glass cone that opens to the sky and provides ample natural light.
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- Perhaps counter-intuitively, astronomers are housed on the first floor, because they study the heavens, while physicists are on higher floors because they look down at smaller particles.
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- The new structure is connected to the Computer and Space Sciences Building (left).
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- The PSC is five stories tall and extends two floors underground, where many of the labs are.
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