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Date: May 29, 1998
Princeton University Dedicates New Teaching Facilities for Physics
May 29, 1998 -- Princeton University today dedicated a new state-of-the-art building for the teaching of physics, named in honor of the late aviation and aerospace pioneer James S. McDonnell of Princeton's Class of 1921. James S. McDonnell Hall brings additional classrooms, laboratories and lecture space, as well as advanced technology for undergraduate education, to the Department of Physics.
McDonnell's sons James S. McDonnell III and John F. McDonnell joined Princeton President Harold T. Shapiro, Physics Department Chair A.J. Stewart Smith and architect Charles Gwathmey for the dedication ceremony. James McDonnell III is a member of the Princeton Class of 1958, while John F. McDonnell graduated with the Class of 1960.
"McDonnell Hall is an extraordinary gift to our Department of Physics and our entire campus community," said President Shapiro. "We are deeply grateful to the McDonnell family and the McDonnell foundations for this wonderfully innovative structure, which will so greatly enrich our teaching enterprise."
Architect Charles Gwathmey of Gwathmey Siegel and Associates, New York, created a boldly modern structure. Housing five classrooms, five teaching laboratories, a small lecture space and a grand auditorium, the building adjoins Jadwin Hall and the offices and research laboratories of Princeton's renowned physics faculty. McDonnell Hall shares a plaza with Fine Hall, home of the Department of Mathematics, and is situated near to the Departments of Molecular Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Geosciences.
Reynolds Auditorium, a gift of the Richard S. Reynolds Foundation of Richmond, Va., is the largest facility in the new building. With seating for 300 and incorporating the latest technology in image projection and computer display equipment, the auditorium also features a specially designed rotating lecture platform. This allows complex experiments and demonstrations to be set up backstage for one class while another is in progress, facilitating the spectacular displays of physical phenomena that have long been the hallmark of the Princeton Physics Department. "We extend our gratitude to the Reynolds family and the Reynolds Foundation for the splendid Auditorium in which so many students will gain such crucial knowledge," commented President Shapiro.
Two-thirds of Princeton students take at least one physics course during their undergraduate years.
Once an undergraduate in the Physics Department himself, James S. McDonnell founded the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation in 1939 and led the company effort in designing and building America's first carrier-based naval jets during World War II. McDonnell Aircraft also produced the spacecraft for NASA's Mercury and Gemini projects before a 1967 merger created the McDonnell Douglas Corporation with James McDonnell as its Chairman and CEO.
James S. McDonnell Hall is a joint gift from his sons James and John and from the JSM Charitable Trust. James S. McDonnell III retired seven years ago as vice-president of McDonnell Douglas and is currently active in other business ventures and civic projects. John F. McDonnell, a former chairman and CEO of McDonnell Douglas, now serves on the board of directors of the recently merged Boeing Company.
Descendants of the founder of the Reynolds Metal Company, the Reynolds family also has extensive ties to Princeton University, including David P. Reynolds, of the Class of 1938, Richard S. Reynolds III '56 and R. Roland Reynolds '93.
Lectures held in Reynolds Auditorium for the dedication were: "The Story of McDonnell Hall" by A.J. Stewart Smith, chair of the Department of Physics, "Demonstrating Nature's Magic" by Assistant Professor of Physics Stephen E. Thorsett and "Lasers and Lungs" by William Happer, Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics. The ribbon-cutting ceremony that followed outdoors in the plaza was led by President Shapiro and attended by members of the McDonnell and Reynolds families, faculty and staff of the Physics Department, other faculty, alumni and friends of Princeton University.