Rutgers leaders formally opened their new $115 million science building Friday during a ribbon-cutting ceremony with school officials.

The Chemistry and Chemical Biology building was funded largely by New Jersey's Building Our Future Bond Act, which voters chose to pass in a referendum question in 2012. It authorized $750 million in bonds to the state's public and private colleges and universities.

The four-story facility in Piscataway has everything students and researchers need to perform state-of-the-art research, school authorities said. It has a humidity and temperature-controlled climate, a microscopy suite, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and x-ray crystallography laboratories.

Plus, the ground floor is vibration-free.

"In lots of areas of chemistry, you need total control of the environment," said John Brennan, professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. "If there is a nuclear bomb going off in New York City, you won't be able to feel it here."

Research Assistant Christopher Rathnam described the contrast between Rutgers' old facilities and the new 144,000-square-foot building, as the difference between "night and day." Before, Rathnam and other researchers might have had to transport materials for their experiments between three different buildings to run the proper tests. Humid and rainy days made the endeavor all but impossible in some cases; the materials would absorb the moisture, changing their chemical makeup.

Now, almost all the machines Rathnam and his colleagues need are in one building, in a controlled environment. Researchers expect that the additional hoods -- or ventilated workstations -- should expedite the testing processes.

Rutgers researchers and students have already advanced science in areas including synthetic drug design and weapon detection, Jean Baum, vice dean of research and graduate education, said. And the new building should help recruit more top-talent, she added.

Some rooms in the building were empty, waiting for high-tech equipment to soon fill the spaces. But the third and fourth floors were full, with researchers working away.

Tariq Bhatti, a fourth-year Ph.D. student, showed off a workstation where sensitive chemicals could be stored and studied in an oxygen-free environment, giving them a longer shelf life.

"In my opinion, this is like the best Lego set ever," he said.

More than 6,000 Rutgers students take chemistry courses each semester and many will now use the new classrooms and labs, according to Neal Buccino, associate director of public and media relations.

Other Jersey colleges previously used the Building Our Future money to invest in science, engineering, technology and mathematics (STEM) programs. In October 2017, The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) opened its $76 million STEM center, $40 million of which came from the bond. Essex County College debuted its $6.7 million "information commons" in November 2017 that was also partially paid for by the bond.

Cassidy Grom may be reached at cgrom@njadvancemedia.com Follow her at @cassidygrom. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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