O'Leary Center

	In July 2002, the Departments of Geology and Psychology moved into the new O'Leary Center, which was under construction during the 2001-2002 academic year. Please scroll down this page to view photos of the construction of our new facility!

July 12, 2002: It's Finished!!...well, almost, anyway. After several months of packing, the Geology and Psychology Departments moved into the O'Leary Center in early July. Of course the move occurred during the hottest days of the summer, but an excellent crew from the Facilities Management Department kept their cool and got us over in record time. As some of the painting, wiring and other items are finished up, we are busy unpacking and getting ready for the fall semester. Stay tuned for photos of the interior which will follow after more furniture is delivered and rooms are set up.

This is the last view you will see of the Dana Parking Lot, located adjacent to the O"leary Center (right). On July 13, the asphalt will be ripped up and the lot will be filled in with soil, and seeded. This is being done as part of Bucknell's long-term plan to make the campus more "pedestrian friendly". The soil for this space is coming from the site of the new student parking lot, off of 7th Street

April 25, 2002: April showers....delay the workers from putting on the slate roof of the O'Leary Center. Slate was lined up along the roofline yesterday in preparation for installation. In recent weeks, deliveries of lecture and lab furniture signals that the building is on schedule and departments are preparing to move at the end of June.
The vertical fault observed on O'Leary in the photo above is not the result of the recent earthquake in New York, rather it is the "fault" of the photographer!

May 6th, 2002: The job of installing the slate shingles has begun this week, after several rain delays (see close-up below).

The interior of the O'Leary Center is nearing completion with final finishing work scheduled to be completed by June 14. Furniture delivery is "slated" for the following week and the move-in is expected to commence around June 24.

I don't think so!....climbing around on the roof in breezy, sub-freezing temperatures is not my idea of a good time, but my hat is off to those who are doing the work! A couple of close-ups of workers putting the second layer of roofing material on the O'Leary Center (photo from early February).

January 7th, 2002: central Pennsylvania received about a foot of snow! On this day, most of the work is going on inside the O'Leary Center.


December 6th, 2001: A view of the O'Leary Center from 7th St., looking northwest. Work continues both inside and outside of the structure. Many windows have been placed on the 7th St. side, while the Olin side (diffficult to see) is not far behind. No roof yet as winter nears, but work must be completed on "the chimneys" (see architect's rendering above) before the roof can go on. Barring bad weather, the building should be weather tight by the end of the month.....


November 27th, 2001: "Carnegie watches...." The Carnegie Building, currently the home for the Geology Department is literally a "stones throw" from the O'Leary Center (left). Many of the photos seen on this page are taken from the upper floor of Carnegie. It is uncertain who will reside in the upper floors of Carnegie, but the Geology Department will occupy the basement for storage and lab facilities.

October 25, 2001: A view through the late fall foliage at the O'Leary Center construction. The Biology-Chemistry building can be seen in the background, and corner of the Carnegie Building (current home of the Geology Department) can be seen to the right.

October 24, 2001: For the past few days, workers have been spreading a concrete mix on top of the corrugated metal that makes up the lowest unit of the floors. The vehicle on the right of the photo is taking concrete from a cement truck, pumping it up to the workers on the second floor where they distribute it and smooth it out.

September 19th, 2001:
Work is progressing rapidly on the O'Leary Center framework. In this photo, the crane is lowering a set of floor joists(?) to the workers below.

The second delivery of steel is expected on the morning of the 20th.

August 1st, 2001:
Craig Kochel and Brad Jordan collected the first of two soil profiles which will provide a record of the geology of the O'Leary building site.

In this photo, a 3.5' section is being recovered in an undisturbed portion of the O'Leary site.

The sediment discovered in the pit shown above was exciting as we uncovered glacial outwash overlying glacial till (right photo). The till contains a poorly-sorted mix of angular pebbles, sand and clay (below), recording the advance of glacial ice across the O'Leary site about 1 million years ago.

The outwash consists mostly of sand and silt layers and records the melting-back of the ice sheet glacier through this area.

This hand-size sample of glacial till was collected from a horizon at about the same level as the tip of the shovel (right photo). Note the poorly-sorted mix of material which was picked up by the glacier as it traveled south across Pennsylvania.