Officials from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) toured first-phase renovations for a state-of-the-art laboratory in the Nuclear Physics Laboratory (NPL) Oct. 6. The site, dug four feet lower than the previous basement floor, is being prepared to house two acoustically isolated experimental chambers for research conducted by physics and astronomy professor Jeremy Levy and his colleagues. These experimental chambers will provide Levy with an environment isolated from stray noises and extraneous radio frequencies, allowing researchers to look at materials that show promise for quantum computing. The construction, along with two other projects, is being funded through a $32 million grant from NIST, which has funneled monies from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into research and technology initiatives. Levy's project completion date is slotted for summer 2012, while the additional laboratories will be built by spring 2014. When finished, there will be 75,000 square feet of new lab space in Allen Hall, NPL, and Old Engineering Hall, as well as an interdisciplinary machine shop. Front row, from left: David Turnshek, chair of Pitt's Department of Physics and Astronomy; Patricia E. Beeson, Pitt provost and senior vice chancellor; Levy; and George Klinzing, Pitt vice provost for research and principal investigator for the NIST program. Back row, from left: Michael Diestel, NIST program officer; and N. John Cooper, Pitt's Bettye J. and Ralph E. Bailey Dean of Arts and Sciences.