Over the years, the Tate Laboratory of Physics has been remodeled and improved to meet the University of Minnesota’s research and education needs. Left: Construction workers add a new addition to Tate in 1951. Right: Today, Tate is being remodeled to improve lab space, lecture halls and interior accessibility.
A new Plant Growth Research Facility. A Chemistry and Advanced Materials Science Building. Renovations for research and learning spaces in iconic Pillsbury Hall. These are a few of the building projects highlighted in the University of Minnesota’s recent capital request to the Minnesota Legislature.
If funded, these projects will be the latest additions to a long history of cutting-edge research infrastructure at the U of M. In the course of the University’s 165-year history, researchers have used a wide range of laboratories and research equipment in fields ranging from aerospace engineering to disease prevention to advance knowledge and make discoveries that improve our health and quality of life.
In the gallery below, Inquiry takes a walk back through the research spaces of yore to highlight a small slice of the specialized equipment and laboratories that helped University researchers push forward in their fields of study.
- Researchers design and construct aircraft in this 1935 photograph of the Aeronautical Engineering Laboratory. University of Minnesota Archives, available at http://purl.umn.edu/81256
- Biophysics researcher Ray Levine works with electrocardiography equipment in this 1950 photo. University of Minnesota Archives, available at http://purl.umn.edu/81061
- Researcher Clyde Harold Bailey, a professor of agriculture biochemistry who later became dean of the College of Agriculture, works in the University’s Cereal Laboratory in 1932. The St. Paul campus’ student residence hall was later named after Bailey when it was constructed in 1949. University of Minnesota Archives, available at http://purl.umn.edu/213597
- Electrical engineering researcher John Bryant and one of his students examine a high-voltage machine in 1939. University of Minnesota Archives, available at http://purl.umn.edu/214426
- Mykola Haydak, a professor of entomology and a world-renown expert on beekeeping, uses a bellows and a bee smoker in this 1958 photo to drive the bees from a hive, allowing him to place a pollen substitute in the nest. University of Minnesota Archives, available at http://purl.umn.edu/81599
- Entomologists Henry Chang, Jeanne Marie Hellberg and Frederick Holdaway examine corn stalks in 1951 for signs of damage from corn borers, an invasive species carried over from Europe in the early 20th century that burrows through corn crops and sometimes causes them to collapse. University of Minnesota Archives, available at http://purl.umn.edu/80986
- The Department of Physiology’s Dr. Victor Lorber conducts cardiology research in the Heart Research Lab in 1953. University of Minnesota Archives, available at http://purl.umn.edu/219279
- Horticulture researcher Lillian Anderson examines reheated asparagus in the Frozen Foods Laboratory in 1948. University of Minnesota Archives, available at http://purl.umn.edu/213420
- The St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, built to conduct hydraulic and river engineering research, is shown in 1938, the year of its dedication. The laboratory is still located on the bank of the Mississippi River today, though it has since undergone renovations. University of Minnesota Archives, available at http://purl.umn.edu/173141
- Venning Hollis, director of the Photographic Laboratory, peers through photographic equipment in 1929. University of Minnesota Archives, available at http://purl.umn.edu/80856
- Polio research staff, including Halvor Halvorson, Cyril Stulberg and Helene Brumfield, gather around laboratory equipment during a project in 1948. University of Minnesota Archives, available at http://purl.umn.edu/80846
- Animal science staff at the Rosemount Research Center tends to the cows in this 1952 photograph. University of Minnesota Archives, available at http://purl.umn.edu/80622
- This undated archive photo from the Rosemount Research Center shows the injection box on a transonic wind tunnel. This type of wind tunnel allowed researchers to test the aerodynamics of solid objects against wind traveling at approximately the speed of sound. University of Minnesota Archives, available at http://purl.umn.edu/228578
- This photo, taken around the turn of the 20th century, shows the laboratory and seed room of agriculturalist Willet Hays. Hays was the first faculty member of the Minnesota Agricultural Experimental Station when it was founded in 1888. University of Minnesota Archives, available at http://purl.umn.edu/81168
- Physics researcher George Greenless, who established a world reputation while at the U of M for his work with theorists to develop the optical model of the atomic nucleus, conducts laser beam research in 1977. University of Minnesota Archives, available at http://purl.umn.edu/216813
- This photo taken circa 1962 shows the framework in place for what became the Social Sciences Tower and Business Administration Tower (now called Heller Hall) during their construction on the Twin Cities’ West Bank campus. University of Minnesota Archives, available at http://purl.umn.edu/167173
- This 1951 photo shows construction crews building a new addition to the Tate Laboratory of Physics. Now, 65 years later, Tate is being remodeled to improve lab space, lecture halls and interior accessibility to support modern research and learning environments. The Minnesota Legislature provided funding for these renovations during its 2014 session. University of Minnesota Archives, available at http://purl.umn.edu/203144
Modern-day Tate Laboratory of Physics photo credit: Patrick O’Leary