Cornell University Receives $10 Million Gift to Fund Molecular Laboratories

Cornell University has received a $10 million gift to establish a suite of molecular engineering laboratories to attract and retain top scholars, the school announced last week.

Sam Fleming, who served as a Cornell trustee emeritus until his death in May, and his wife Nancy Fleming made the donation to fund the construction of the Samuel C. Fleming Molecular Engineering Laboratories in Olin Hall.

The Fleming Laboratories, the first major addition of lab space to Olin Hall in 30 years, will advance molecular research on drug delivery, biomedical diagnostics drug design, and the discovery of new materials.

Researchers and faculty members from within the Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering will share the space and equipment to advance their work.

“This laboratory space will allow them to continue to develop new chemical design principles, synthesize their own molecules and pursue a rich array of applications in biomedical and environmental contexts,” Abe Stroock, William C. Hooey Director of the Smith School, said.

With the constriction of the new laboratory spaces, officials believe the school will become an “international focal point for discoveries that will define molecular engineering in the decades to come,” according to a release.

Other universities have also begun undertaking initiatives to further research in molecular engineering. Last week, the University of Chicago announced that it received a $100 million commitment from the Pritzker Foundation to establish a dedicated school for molecular engineering, the first in the nation to do so.