Welcome to Yale West

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Welcome to Yale West! trail

Welcome to Yale West Campus!

Tour stop audio transcript

Welcome to Yale West Campus! My name is Chantel and I will be showing you around our campus today. Yale West Campus was purchased from Bayer Healthcare in 2007. The campus is filled with people doing unique, interdisciplinary, and cutting edge research in medicine, science, and the arts! The campus spans 136 acres and boasts over a million square feet of state-of-the-art office and research space. Here, six interdisciplinary research institutes address key questions in human sustainability, with a focus on health, energy and the environment. The West Campus Institutes are complemented with core facilities that support science, engineering, and the arts. West Campus is buzzing with activity and has much to offer to students, faculty, and staff.

Before we begin, let me tell you a few of the ways in which you can use the virtual tour to see our campus. To start walking along the tour route, click the forward-facing arrow. If you'd like to move to the next stop, click the next stop button below. If you'd like to jump to a particular location, you can use the drop down menu or click directly on the map. And remember that you can explore any location in more detail by clicking on the 360, Photos, or Video icons.

Let's get started on the tour to discover what it is that makes Yale West Campus an exciting place to work and learn.

Welcome Center

Tour stop audio transcript

We are now standing at the Welcome Center. It serves as a resource to our security personnel and staff when directing visitors through the campus. First time visitors can come here for directions and information about the campus. Maps and brochures as well as personal security escorts are offered if needed.

Urban Farm trail

You are now on the 5th point on the Urban Farm trail on your way to Yale West Campus Urban Farm.

You are now on the 7th point on the Urban Farm trail on your way to Yale West Campus Urban Farm.

You are now on the 9th point on the Urban Farm trail on your way to Yale West Campus Urban Farm.

You are now on the 11th point on the Urban Farm trail on your way to Yale West Campus Urban Farm.

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You are now on the 15th point on the Urban Farm trail on your way to Yale West Campus Urban Farm.

You are now on the 17th point on the Urban Farm trail on your way to Yale West Campus Urban Farm.

Yale West Campus Urban Farm

Tour stop audio transcript

This is the Yale West Campus Urban Farm. It is a quarter acre and features raised beds, for vegetables, herbs, and flowers, and barrel planters for fruit trees and blueberry bushes. The Farm was created in 2012 to serve not only as a community space focused on sustainability, but also as a teaching and exploratory research space. West Campus Administration worked closely with the Yale Sustainable Food Project to develop this space and the vision for the farm is already coming to fruition. Through integration with the curricula of the midwifery program at the Yale School of Nursing and the use of the farm's spinach to isolate protein for Professor Brudvig's energy transduction project, the Yale West Campus Urban Farm is already benefiting research. The crops grown here are also used in the West Campus dining facility and across the university by community members, thus promoting a more sustainable Yale.

Community Education Center trail

Community Education Center

Tour stop audio transcript

The Community Education Center is also in this building. The center features almost 3000 square feet of classroom, presentation, and laboratory space. We offer science and natural history programs for grade school children, high school students, and adults. Through these programs, the local communities of New Haven, West Haven, and Orange are invited to come and explore the campus.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions trail

Bright Horizons Family Solutions

Tour stop audio transcript

Welcome to Bright Horizons Family Solutions. Bright Horizons is a child care facility that offers staff, faculty, and student parents an opportunity to enroll their children in a safe environment close to where they work. Bright Horizons is not a Yale owned facility, but offers designated slots for Yale personnel. They accept children ages six weeks to 12 years old and offer a Ready for School program for Pre-Kindergarten.

Office Complex Buildings North & South trail

You are now on the 5th point on the Office Complex Buildings North & South trail on your way to School of Nursing.

You are now on the 7th point on the Office Complex Buildings North & South trail on your way to School of Nursing.

You are now on the 9th point on the Office Complex Buildings North & South trail on your way to School of Nursing.

You are now on the 11th point on the Office Complex Buildings North & South trail on your way to School of Nursing.

Office Complex Buildings South

Tour stop audio transcript

Welcome to the Yale School of Nursing and Office Complex Building South! Built in 1999, these buildings have more than 230,000 square feet of office and support space. The Yale School of Nursing is the first academic program at Yale West Campus with 350 students, 45 faculty, and 5 clinical programs being offered. It enjoys a national and international reputation for excellence in teaching, research and clinical practice, and is a leading school of nursing in the United States. The Yale School of Nursing supports a diverse community of scholars and clinicians with a common goal: better health care for all people. Since their move to Yale West Campus in 2013, some of their curricula have expanded to include resources on the campus such as the West Campus Urban Farm and the Yale Center for Genome Analysis.

Next door to the Yale School of Nursing is Office Complex South. It is currently unoccupied, but it is not difficult to imagine an existing university division or department occupying this space in the future. It has previously been used to host the Yale Hack-a-thon which hosted over a 1000 students for 24 hours. It is an amazing space and a true measure to what the West Campus offers to Yale University.

You are now on the 15th point on the Office Complex Buildings North & South trail coming from Office Complex Buildings South on your way to School of Nursing.

You are now on the 17th point on the Office Complex Buildings North & South trail coming from Office Complex Buildings South on your way to School of Nursing.

You are now on the 19th point on the Office Complex Buildings North & South trail coming from Office Complex Buildings South on your way to School of Nursing.

School of Nursing

Walking Trails trail

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You are now on the 11th point on the Walking Trails trail on your way to Walking Trails.

You are now on the Walking Trails stop of the Walking Trails trail.

Tour stop audio transcript

Behind the Office Complex Buildings are nature trails that are part of the Oyster Creek Preserve. If you ever want to step outside and enjoy nature, this is the perfect place to go! This area is mainly used for outreach programs organized by the Peabody Museum but also provides a quiet sanctuary for West Campus residents and a quick connection between buildings. The campus is home to lots of beautiful wildlife. There are often bird watching groups on campus as part of the many outreach classes sponsored by the Peabody. It is truly one of the most beautiful places on campus!

Tour stop audio transcript

Walking Trails

Tour stop audio transcript

Reactions Research Lab trail

You are now on the 5th point on the Reactions Research Lab trail on your way to Reactions Research Lab.

You are now on the 7th point on the Reactions Research Lab trail on your way to Reactions Research Lab.

Reactions Research Lab

Tour stop audio transcript

Hi! My name is Austin and I'll be showing you around the remainder of the tour. We have now reached the Reactions Research Lab. It was built in 1993. Due to the highly combustible reactions that were performed here, the steel doors in this building are 6 inches thick. The building was even built into the embankment to withstand an explosion. These protective measures make this building perfect for Professor Wang who uses this building to conduct his experiments on carbon sequestration. These experiments on climate change cannot be conducted on main campus because of the extreme conditions used in the reactions. Thus, the only place where this research can be performed is in this reinforced building on West Campus.

Energy Sciences Center trail

Energy Sciences Center

Tour stop audio transcript

This is the Energy Sciences Center. Built in 1998, this building has ample space for flexible physical science research. The Center houses the first stage of our Energy Sciences Institute, one of the six research institutes at West Campus. The launch of this institute was made possible by the $25 Million gift by Thomas Steyer and his wife Kathryn Taylor, of the TomKat Foundation. This Energy Sciences Institute will focus on the emerging challenges facing the environment and energy sectors. Scientists and engineers working in this Center will help develop new technologies for alternative energies, including solar fuels and carbon mitigation.

Molecular Innovations Center trail

You are now on the 5th point on the Molecular Innovations Center trail on your way to Molecular Innovations Center.

You are now on the 7th point on the Molecular Innovations Center trail on your way to Molecular Innovations Center.

Molecular Innovations Center

Tour stop audio transcript

Welcome to the Molecular Innovations Center. This 130,000-sq-ft building is designed for hood-intensive synthetic chemistry. Two of the West Campus core facilities are on the first floor, the Yale Center for Molecular Discovery and the West Campus Analytical Core. The Yale Center for Molecular Discovery provides biology and chemistry services to the Yale community. This includes access to small molecule compound collections, technical expertise, and instrumentation for high throughput assay design and execution. The West Campus Analytical Core houses shared research instruments for analytical chemistry and biochemistry. It provides an ideal setting for education and training. The second and third floors are home to the Chemical Biology Institute. This scientific institute will emphasize research in two intertwined sub-fields that are essential for discovery and translation: synthetic biology and biosynthesis.

Advanced Biosciences Center trail

You are now on the 5th point on the Advanced Biosciences Center trail on your way to Advanced Biosciences Center.

You are now on the 7th point on the Advanced Biosciences Center trail on your way to Advanced Biosciences Center.

Advanced Biosciences Center

Tour stop audio transcript

This is the Advanced Biosciences Center. Built in 1989, this 140,000-sq-ft facility houses biology research labs. Two scientific institutes occupy the second floor of this building, the Systems Biology Institute and the Microbial Diversity Institute. The Cancer Biology Institute is located on the third floor. The Cancer Biology Institute will support a historic collaboration between Yale and Gilead Sciences, Inc. In this multi-year research collaboration, Gilead is providing financial and intellectual support to aid research to identify the genetic basis of cancer and identify drugs for its treatment.

Integrated Science & Technology Center trail

Integrated Science & Technology Center

Tour stop audio transcript

Welcome to the Integrated Science and Technology Center. The building houses the Nanobiology Institute, which sits at the interface of cell biology and biophysics. It focuses on the discovery of principles that unite living and synthetic materials at the nanoscale.

Conference Center & West Campus Administration trail

Conference Center & West Campus Administration

Tour stop audio transcript

This is the Conference Center. It contains a state-of-the-art auditorium and dining facility that can hold almost 300 people. Hundreds of events, symposia, and retreats have been hosted here! The second floor houses West Campus Administration and the office for the Vice President for West Campus Planning and Program Development. The second floor also contains a video conference room, break out rooms, and a student lounge that is great for our weekly Thursday Happy Hours.

Interesting fact, all the research buildings and Conference Center are connected through underground tunnels. They are easily accessible without even going outside. This means no walking in the snow or rain!

Yale Center for Genome Analysis trail

Yale Center for Genome Analysis

Tour stop audio transcript

This is the Yale Center for Genome Analysis. It is home to the university's high throughput genome sequencing core. It is among the 5 most prolific genomic laboratories in the USA. It has the capability of sequencing 175 human genomes each day! That is pretty amazing. The building was built in the 1970s and was renovated in 2001. It has 6,000 square feet of lab space and is gorgeous aesthetically inside and out.

Collection Studies Center trail

Collection Studies Center

Tour stop audio transcript

We are now at the Collection Studies Center. This building is used to store collections from various Yale museums, galleries, and libraries. This includes the Peabody Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, Yale Center for British Art, and the Yale Sterling Memorial Library. It houses two Art Cores, the Yale Digital Collections Center and the Center for Conservation and Preservation. The Yale Digital Collections Center is a comprehensive centralized home for digital imaging of cultural heritage, digital analysis, cross-disciplinary research, and collections management.

The Center for Conservation and Preservation focuses on constructing a comprehensive conservation laboratory for all of Yale's cultural properties. This center was majorly funded through a $25 million gift from Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin. The gift also helped establish the Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage. In order to advance conservation science around the world, this institute unites the vast resources of the University's museum and library collections with the scientific and technological expertise of Yale's academic departments.

High Performance Computing trail

High Performance Computing

Tour stop audio transcript

We are now inside the Collection Studies Center at the High Performance Computing Data Center. HPC is home to major computational facilities for both the Yale Center for Genome Analysis (YCGA) and the Faculty of Arts & Sciences (FAS) HPC Core. Currently there are four large HPC machines in the data center. Each one is a compute cluster comprising a large number of individual compute nodes connected by fast networks to each other and to several large data storage facilities. One of the clusters, used by the Yale Center Genome Analysis, is for the production and storage of genomic data, as well as by researchers who develop biological insights by studying that data. The other clusters support computation for a broad range of research in the natural sciences and engineering, including research carried out at the Energy Sciences Institute and the Microbial Diversity Institute, both located on West Campus.

Fitness Center trail

Fitness Center

Tour stop audio transcript

Welcome to the Fitness Center! Created in 2012, it provides another space for the Yale Community to stay physically fit. The fitness center has state-of-the-art cardio and weight equipment with designated space for various fitness courses like Body Contouring, Yoga, and Martial Arts. It is a free service for West Campus occupants and is open seven days a week between 5am and 10pm.

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