SPCS Facilities
We have excellent facilities and technologies that meet both undergraduate and postgraduate student needs, and exceed international academic standards. The main facilities include the new NZ$220 million state-of-the-art Rutherford Regional Science and Innovation Centre, and the Mt John Observatory.
Rutherford Regional Science and Innovation Centre (RRSIC)
With a total project budget of NZ$216 million, the new centre provides accommodation for the College of Science, including the SPCS, along with an unprecedented resource for the Canterbury region. The building is named for renowned UC Alumnus Lord Ernest Rutherford, and was officially opened by New Zealand's Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, on Thursday, 15 February 2018.
The building includes specialist teaching and research laboratories for physics, astronomy, chemistry, geology, geography and the biological sciences. Watch the quick video tours below.
The new Rutherford building was officially opened by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Watch an introduction to studying science at UC with Professor Katharina Naswall.
Hear three UC alumni talk about their time at the UC College of Science and where it has taken them
World-class Teaching Laboratories
The design of our teaching laboratory spaces was inspired by laboratories in Oxford and Cambridge, two leading UK universities with which we have close links via our academic staff and the Erskine Fellowship programme. The SPCS is equipped with high-field (600 MHz and 400 MHz) Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometers, high-performance liquid chromatography, high-resolution mass-spectrometers, single crystal and powder X-ray diffractometers, a high specification laser spectroscopy facility, and other cutting-edge modern instruments.
Mount John Astronomical Observatory in Tekapo
The UC Mount John Observatory, previously known as Mt John University Observatory, is New Zealand's premier astronomical research observatory. It is situated close to Tekapo, at 1,029 metres above sea level atop Mount John, and was established in 1965. Lake Tekapo's spectacular, unpolluted night skies attract visitors from all over the world. The UC Mount John Observatory provides outstanding conditions for observations and discoveries of the southern sky.