The beauty of the lab

Beauty of Lab_index

Not only are Princeton University's scientific research facilities state-of-the-art, they are designed to inspire.

Photo by Brian Wilson, Office of Communications

Princeton University offers students and faculty members a wide range of opportunities to work in state-of-the-art laboratory facilities, from freshman introductory courses to upper-level lab courses, from students' independent research to faculty research on the applications of scientific discoveries, and on campus and around the world.

In addition to the sophisticated equipment used in experiments every day, labs have a beauty that has not escaped notice from students, research fellows, faculty and staff. In photography and research-generated images, such as those celebrated by the "Art of Science" exhibition, that beauty is revealed.

Beauty of Lab_people

The Frick Chemistry Laboratory, built in 2010, was designed with numerous features to facilitate hands-on learning and world-class research, such as large glass panes that visually connect the laboratories, offices and group areas to maximize interaction and enhance collaboration and creativity. (Photo by Denise Applewhite, Office of Communications)

 

Beauty of Lab_test tubes

Light plays in an novel way on test tubes and chemical solutions in Anna Hiszpanski and Yueh-Lin Loo's 2013 entry in the Art of Science competition, "Tropical Sunset." (Photo courtesy of Anna Hiszpanski and Yueh-Lin Loo, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering)

 

Beauty Lab_PPPL

A researcher at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory peeks out of a machine used for the Lithium Tokamak Experiment, a study on how lithium walls can provide greater plasma stability and control. (Photo by Elle Starkman, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory)

 

Beauty of Lab_empty flasks

Empty flasks in the Frick Chemistry Laboratory dry on a rack, awaiting a new experiment. (Photo by Brian Wilson, Office of Communications)

 

Beauty Lab_MAE

Students in an engineering lab place a variety of objects in a wind tunnel to learn about aerodynamics. (Photo by Denise Applewhite, Office of Communications)

 

Beauty of Lab_Photon's eye view

Remnant light from the universe's explosive beginnings 14 billion years ago can still be seen through special detectors developed in a collaboration between Princeton and other universities and located 17,000 feet high in the Atacama Desert in Chile. This photograph, a 2013 entry in the Art of Science exhibition, shows light from a camera reflecting off a gold-plated silicon detector wafer. (Photo by Emily Grace, Christine Pappas, Laura Newburgh, Princeton University Department of Physics; Benjamin Schmitt, University of Pennsylvania)