Milwaukee, WI
New UW-Milwaukee Chemistry Building Opens – UWM Post
UW-Milwaukee unveiled its chemistry building with a grand opening ceremony on Friday. The project cost $118 million, a six-year campaign of securing funds, design and construction.
This is the third ceremony held for this 163,400-square-foot building. First was a groundbreaking ceremony held in January of 2022 followed by a Topping Off Ceremony in January of 2023.
To celebrate the grand opening, a ceremonial “chemical reaction” was organized by the Chemistry Department and carried out by Dean of the College of Letters and Science Scott Gronert.
“It’s the chemistry department, so we’re not going to cut a ribbon or break open a bottle of champagne,” said Gronert.
The ceremony, hosted by Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Andrew Daire, also had several speakers including Chancellor Mark Mone, UWM Board of Regents President Amy Bogost, Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Administration Kathy Blumenfeld and Dean of the College of Letters and Science Scott Gronert.
“The chemical industry is the fifth-largest manufacturing sector in Wisconsin, said Mone. “UWM graduates are vital to that industry… This building will not only enhance the learning experience for our students, but it will also fill the state’s talent pipeline and bolster our research capabilities, contributing to significant scientific advances.”
According to Mone, this building would not have been possible without the support of the Universities of Wisconsin, UWM Campus Space management and Planning, UWM Board of Regents, State of Wisconsin Building Commission and the State of Wisconsin Department of Administration Division of Facilities Development.
“Chemistry is a foundation,” said Mone. “It’s a building block for so many programs on our campus – engineers, environmental science, forensics, freshwater sciences, nursing, medical technology, teaching and many more.”
Teaching Tomorrow’s Scientists
More than 3,500 students take chemistry or biochemistry classes at UWM every year. In 2015, UWM was recognized as an R1 research institution, placing it in the top tier of research universities in the nation.
“Each of these students have one or often several chemistry courses as they prepare for their futures,” said Mone. “That’s what it’s about – preparing students for their futures.”
According to Bogost, 88% of those who earned bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees at UWM in 2024 graduated in fields of high demand such as health and human services, business, STEM, and computer science.
Bogost added that 5,300 have graduated from UWM each year over the last decade, 80% of which have stayed in the state
The new chemistry building is meant to serve as a gateway to UWM’s STEM departments and help faculty and staff better prepare students interested in fast-growing fields like medicine, genetic engineering, toxicology, pharmaceutics, chemical education, nanoscience and more.
“In July, Wisconsin was officially selected as a regional technology hub,” said Blumenfield. “[It was] recognized as a global leader in personal medicine and biotech. To be successful in all of these fields, we will need future scientists, leaders, researchers, and technical experts.”
To honor the opening of the new chemistry building, Sterling Pharma Solutions has donated $25,000 to the chemistry and biochemistry department.
Designed for Science by Science
“When we were designing the building, it was difficult because the design phase started before COVID-19,” said Gronert.
The building was designed and engineered through a partnership between CannonDesign and Kahler Slater. Construction began in 2022, and was spearheaded by VJS Construction Services.
The new Chemistry building features state-of-the-art labs, advanced research equipment and flexible learning spaces that reflect the latest trends in chemistry education and research. After the ceremony, visitors were allowed to explore the building and all it has to offer.
The basement houses the single most expensive piece of equipment purchased through new building funds, a magnetic resonance facility designed to teach undergraduate and graduate students about the applications of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The basement is not open to the public, and visitors were not allowed to tour the facility.
The first floor has two lecture halls, a teaching studio and outreach lab to support learning for K-12 teachers and students studying to be teachers, and a chemistry supplemental instruction space for tutoring.
The second floor has teaching labs designed specifically for nursing, health sciences and engineering majors. Visitors could also get free t-shirts and enjoy some ice cream made with liquid nitrogen.
The third floor houses the Industry Incubator Research Lab where companies can form partnerships and space agreements to occupy the building for research and teaching opportunities.
“The Milwaukee Institute for Drug Design will be housed in this building,” said Blumenfield. “Its members have secured over $27 million in research funding and produced 63 patent applications since 2017.”
The third floor also houses the organic chemistry research suite and teaching lab for the development of new organic reactions to enable the synthesis of new drug candidates for cancer, respiratory and other diseases.
Visitors could also watch a Scientific Glassblowing Demonstration where they used a specially-designed lathe and blow torches to add a second neck to a boiling flask.
The fourth floor was designed for bio- and inorganic chemistry researchers who study systems ranging from antibiotic biosynthesis to the search for new antiviral compounds and the inner workings of metalloenzymes.
The building was also designed with sustainability in mind, utilizing a modern HVAC and exhaust system with energy recovery to help preheat the air in the winter and cool the air in the summer.
MILWAUKEE — Five teenagers were arrested on Thursday following a police pursuit that started on the 5500 block of W. Silver Spring Drive at around 10 a.m.
The teenagers were seen by the Milwaukee Police Department in a wanted vehicle that was involved in an armed robbery, and attempted to stop the vehicle.
The driver refused to stop, starting the police pursuit.
TMJ4
The pursuit ended when the suspect exited the vehicle and started to run on foot on W. Appleton Place, according to MPD.
MPD then arrested a 16-year-old female, a 16-year-old male, two 17-year-old females, and a 15-year-old male.
Criminal charges will be referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.
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BY ALEXANDRA G STAHL AND AMRITA THAKKAR
Every year, Milwaukee Riverkeeper organizes one of the biggest volunteer-led cleanups in the city – a gargantuan effort that has Milwaukeeans out in droves to clean up the Milwaukee, Menomonee and Kinnickinnic rivers after the first of the spring rains. The science-based advocacy organization works for clean, swimmable, fishable and drinkable water in the Milwaukee River Basin year-round, but April is their biggest push, as they set up what is likely the largest volunteer-led event in the state.
For their 31st annual cleanup on April 25, however, the Riverkeepers had a goal that dwarfed every previous year – they wanted to break the world record for the world’s biggest river cleanup. With 124 clean-up sites this year (versus last year’s 100), they were confident that they had a good chance at the title.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
“The people’s power is something pretty spectacular,” says Jennifer Bolger Breceda, executive director of Milwaukee Riverkeeper. “Our spring cleanup is really kind of a kickoff of spring to a lot of people. We have a lot of nuisance pollution in Milwaukee because of our winters, and the snow covers up a lot of the trash for a significant period of time. When it melts it becomes pretty noticeable, so it’s a perfect time to get out there and do the cleanup.”
Tru Earth, the presenting sponsor of the cleanup, originally approached Riverkeeper with the idea of breaking a world record, aiming to see if the title already existed or if they could create one. The organizations reached out to Guinness World Records, and it turned out there was already an existing world record for “Most Participants in a River Clean-up (multiple locations).” The record had previously been set at a cleanup of the Taff River in the United Kingdom, with 1,327 participants.
But applying to break the record was the easy part – once Guinness was on board, the real work began. The record had to be judged against the previous record, and it had to be done exactly the same way.
“We had to train more volunteers to support our other volunteers, to watch, witness and adjudicate them,” explains Bolger Breceda. “We also had an adjudicator from Guinness present on the day of the event.”
The extra layer caused some logistical challenges. While previous events were more casual, with volunteers showing up in their own time, Riverkeeper requested that volunteers show up early this year so everyone could start at 9 a.m. Every site captain was added to a text message chain, so that all sites started work at the same time.
The event drew over 4,923 volunteers and ended up with approximately 111,452 pounds of trash collected. While Guinness only counted 2,082 people due to their own adjudication standards, it still easily surpassed the previous record.
While Riverkeeper called for pre-registrations well in advance so they could organize for supplies, Bolger Breceda says that they didn’t put in any extra effort into recruiting the record-breaking number. “With the flooding and the rains a couple weeks before the clean-up, as well as the storm last August, people really wanted to clean up the river,” she explains. “There was a lot of trash, debris and litter, and the demand to clean, so to speak, was high.”
As always, the clean-up resulted in a number of strange finds – three toilets, two mattresses, five fire extinguishers, 39 tires, 11 construction barrels, six construction signs, six shopping carts, a golf bag with clubs and even a wheelchair.
The record was announced at Rock the Green at the Harley-Davidson Museum later that day. “It was a lot of work, but it was worth it to put Milwaukee on the map,” says Bolger Breceda.
MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee’s Festival of Flowers is returning to Riverwalk Commons at the Milwaukee Public Market this Saturday, running from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The free event features a flower market with vendors selling fresh flowers, art, and handmade goods, along with live music on the Riverwalk Common stage.
Milwaukee Public Market
A new floral art installation from Botanical Collective will also be on display, serving as a photo opportunity for attendees. The installation builds on a similar display from last year’s event.
WATCH: Milwaukee’s Festival of Flowers returns for a second year with new additions
Milwaukee’s Festival of Flowers returns for second year with new additions
“So things that you might have seen last year are absolutely coming back. We have free live music on the Riverwalk Common stage. We have a flower market with vendors selling fresh flowers, art, handmade goods, all of that really fun stuff. Then we also have Botanical Collective last year made this beautiful floral art installation that also acted as a photo op. This year it’s going to look a little different, so we’re really excited to see what they put together,” said Paige Hammond with the Milwaukee Public Market.
Milwaukee Public Market
Also new this year, the festival will kick off with a free yoga class at 11 a.m. Attendees are asked to bring their own mat.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Hey there! At TMJ4 News, we’re all about listening to our audience and tackling the stuff that really matters to you. Got a story idea, tip, or just want to chat about this piece? Hit us up using the form below. For more ways to get in touch, head over to tmj4.com/tips.
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