Fairchild Science Center

Ground was broken late last month for Dartmouth's new $5.3-million physical sciences center, to be named in memory of Sherman M. Fairchild, inventor and aviation pioneer.

The Fairchild Center will be a cluster of classroom and laboratory buildings around a core tower and library. It will encompass Steele Hall, chemistry building; Wilder Hall, which houses the Physics and Astronomy Departments; and the new four-story Fairchild Building, which will be headquarters for the Departments of Earth Sciences, Geography, and Environmental Studies. The departmental buildings will be linked to the Center tower, site of the physical sciences library.

The Center, conceived by the Boston architectural firm Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson, and Abbot, will be modular in design, capable of expansion as need arises. As part of the overall project, Steele and Wilder will be thoroughly renovated.

The Fairchild Foundation, established by Mr. Fairchild during his lifetime, is the primary donor of the Center. Its $3-million gift, first major grant of the Foundation to an educational institution, is the largest single contribution the College has ever received, except by bequest.

The other major donor is the Kresge Foundation, which gave $500,000 for the library and information center. The remainder was allocated from the Third Century Fund.

Mr. Fairchild, son of the founder of International Business Machines Corporation, attended Harvard College and studied engineering at Columbia. He interrupted his education during World War I when the War Department asked him to build an aerial camera. This led to the Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation and later to the design and construction of aircraft to meet the demands of aerial photography.