Labs, Lectures, and Libraries

Princeton has long been a powerhouse in STEM. The halls which house these departments are well-known to students and contain academic and research facilities. Explore our photo essay to see where students in STEM learn and work.

FRICK CHEMISTRY LABORATORY

In 1929, Princeton's first chemistry laboratory was constructed. Over eight decades later, the Princeton Department of Chemistry opened a new building to cultivate information that changes the world and the minds of the students. From there, the new Frick Chemistry Laboratory was born. The design of the atrium brings natural light into shared spaces both inside and outside the lab.

MCCOSH HALL

Over the years, McCosh Hall 50, the largest lecture hall on campus, has hosted regular academic lectures as well as the talks of distinguished speakers including Albert Einstein, Robert Frost, Toni Morrison, and T.S. Eliot. The lecture hall was renovated during 2019–2020 to revamp its sound and HVAC systems, as well as repaint the original wood from when McCosh was first constructed in 1907.

MATH & PHYSICS COMPLEX

The math and physics department have always been close not just in an academic sense, but also a physical one. The original Fine Hall (Department of Mathematics) and the Palmer Physical Laboratory are today more commonly known to us as Frist Campus Center and the adjoined Jones Hall. In the 1960s, the two departments were relocated to a corner of campus in which Fine Hall, Jadwin Hall (not pictured), the Lewis Library, and the Engineering Library are all connected. While these spaces are primarily known for housing the heart of much of Princeton's STEM research, they also offer spaces for students to study, or even join faculty for afternoon tea everyday at 3:30 p.m. in the Fine Hall Lounge.

FRIST CAMPUS CENTER

Room 302 in the Frist Campus Center is where Albert Einstein taught classes when the campus center was formerly the Palmer Physical Laboratory. Today, the room continues to be used as a classroom. Shown here is ART 102: An Introduction to the History of Architecture, taught by Professors Basile Baudez (shown) and Samuel Holzman. Little has changed in the classroom since Einstein taught here; the old wooden seats and layout of the classroom remain, though the room has new audio-visual technology.

SCHULTZ & THOMAS LABORATORY

Both the Lewis Thomas Laboratory and the Schultz Laboratory were designed by Robert Venturi ’47 *50 in the 1970s. The Lewis Thomas Laboratory was the first to be built in the late 1970s, a time when molecular biology began to gain traction and importance within academia as a discipline. Just a few years prior, the University, missing the growing trend of molecular biology, had allowed top members of the department to leave. Today, both buildings flank McCosh Walk, the first of the STEM buildings that students encounter as they make their way to classes.

ENGINEERING QUADRANGLE

Students work on a fluids experiment in MAE 224: Integrated Engineering Science Laboratory. Many School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) classes, including MAE 224, take place in the Engineering Quadrangle, nicknamed the E-Quad. Though SEAS was founded in 1921 and originally housed in Green Hall, the E-Quad was not built until 1962 when a need to expand arose.

FRIEND CENTER

Friend 101 is the 250-seat auditorium located within the Friend Center, one of the many buildings that make up the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). The Friend Center was originally meant to be a space where both A.B. and B.S.E. students could come together. The Dean of SEAS at the time, James Wei, called it the "crossroad where all Princeton students should gather and learn together."