The 275,000 sq. foot Science Center complex consists of the three Thompson buildings (Physics, Chemistry, Biology), Clark Hall, the 1960’s era Bronfman Science Center, and the Schow Science Library and Morley Laboratory, which were completed in 2000. Serving as the home for astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer science, geosciences, history of science, mathematics and statistics, physics, and psychology, this facility supports teaching spaces of many sizes and configurations, as well as a wide array of student-faculty research projects. The proximity of the departments to one another fosters interdisciplinary interaction across departments. This interaction is manifested through the sharing of core research equipment and services, through interdepartmental programs and cross-listed courses, as well as through collaborative research ventures. At Williams more than 1/3 of the undergraduates major in one of the disciplines that share a home in the Science Center.
About 75 faculty members have offices in the science center. Teaching spaces range from large lecture halls to small seminar rooms, to well-equipped teaching laboratories. In addition to individual research laboratories for faculty members, Williams has an unusually large collection of shared research equipment, which is highlighted here. Each academic year, roughly 100 students work as research assistants in labs, while another 50 seniors pursue honors thesis research working directly with faculty members. See examples of current research projects here. Each summer, between 175 and 200 undergraduates work full-time as paid interns on collaborative research projects with Williams faculty members.