The William Albert Noyes Laboratory borders the Main Quad on the UIUC campus. Designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, construction of the building began in 1901 after Chemistry Department head Alfred W. Palmer successfully secured funding from the Illinois State Legislature.
Completed in 1902, the new building, at nearly 78,000 square feet, was known as the New Chemical Laboratory.
The first decade of the building saw the tremendous growth of the Department of Chemistry. This lead to a need for additional space.
Under the new leadership of department head William A. Noyes, additional funding was obtained to add an additional 86,396 square feet to the building. The addition, completed in 1916, housed the largest chemistry department in the United States at that time.
While the building was originally built for the Department of Chemistry, it also served for a time as the home of other departements, including Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Bacteriology. In addition, the Illinois Water Survey used laboratories and workrooms in the building from 1907 to 1951.
In 1939, the building was renamed the William Albert Noyes Laboratory of Chemistry in recognition of Noyes’s distinguished service as a professor of chemistry, department head, and director of laboratories.
UIUC chemist Roger Adams wrote of Noyes in 1952, "The reputation of Illinois chemistry, the vigorous atmosphere for progress which he inspired, and his traditionally friendly attitude toward the growing staff will always remain as his lasting contributions to the University of Illinois and American chemistry."
In 2002, the American Chemical Society designated the building a National Historic Chemical Landmark.
Many of the most influential figures in the chemical sciences have taught and worked in Noyes, including ten Nobel Prize winners, twenty-three presidents of the American Chemical Society, and twelve recipients of the Priestley Medal.
Today, innovative and exciting research continues at Noyes, reflecting over 100 years of scientific contributions that have shaped the world of chemical sciences.
Noyes Lab has numerous classrooms, instructional laboratory spaces, and the administrative offices of the School of Chemical Sciences and the Department of Chemistry. It's also home to the High-throughput Screening Facility, Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Microanalysis Laboratory, George L. Clark X-Ray Facility & 3M Materials Laboratory, Electronic Services, Chemistry Library, and the Glass Shop.
