Jacob Bigeleisen on the Chemistry Building
Part 2/6
Dodson and I arranged for a visit with Haworth. We expressed our concern
about Tucker's document and his procedure. We arranged for Haworth and
Tucker to visit the old chemistry building. Haworth complimented me on the
way I had organized and orchestrated the visit. The order was out. Do not
tidy up too much. After the visit Haworth agreed to move us from spot 10 to
spot 3. Spot 1 went to Physics; spot 2 went to something related to
accelerators. After we were placed in position 3, I told Haworth we could
not wait for the construction of a new building, which would take a minimum
of five years. We needed space now. Haworth brought in his deputy, Dr.
Gerald F. Tape, and worked out a plan whereby we could make "modifications"
to existing structures at a cost of $99.999.00 without AEC approval. That
year we moved the old morgue building from the old Medical Center to the
street across from the chemistry building, gutted it, put on a new roof and
outside siding and built laboratories and offices. That building was
occupied by Oliver Schaeffer and someone else. The next year we renovated a
second shack and equipped laboratory space for Radiation Chemistry and Mass
Spectrometry. Of course the Van de Graaff accelerator stayed in its old
shielded location.
At our meeting with Haworth and Tape I asked about the process of requesting
funds, planning and design of a new building. Haworth told us that planning
of the Physics Building was practically complete. It was his desire to have
the permanent Chemistry Building adjacent to Physics. We were to share the
seminar room and build intellectual bridges between the two disciplines. The
Chairman of the Physics Building Committee was Dr. G. Norris Glasoe. I was
asked to cooperate with Glasoe in the planning. Glasoe did not believe in
consultation and he did most of the planning of the Physics Building with
little input from members of the Department. He took the same approach to
our relationship. He had his views about the seminar room and this was and
is the way it was designed and built. After study of the Physics plan, I met
with Haworth and told him that the site selected for Chemistry was flawed.
There would not be enough room for expansion for the Physics Department and
the Chemistry Department would be constrained (see the siting plan of July
1959. This came as a complete disappointment to Haworth, who saw the merits
of my argument). The work on the Physics Building was underway. I also
pointed out to Haworth that the way the Laboratory went about planning was a
disaster. He called in Tape to join in the discussion. I pointed out that
BNL architectural planning, reporting to Tucker, prepared a proposal to AEC,
with a justification of need, a schedule of spaces and facilities, a
conceptual design of the building and a cost estimate. Eventually all of
this ended up in the Congressional Authorization. You were fixed. You had to
build the amount of space requested within the budget. No space could be
left unfinished for future development. If there was money left over, it
reverted to the U.S. Treasury. For additional money. you had to seek
Congressional appropriation.
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Last Modified: June 28, 2012
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