President Eyring, Gov. Cox among dignitaries celebrating completion of University of Utah’s Applied Science Project

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While still a young man, President Henry B. Eyring was challenged by his father — the renowned chemist Henry Eyring — to explore the hard sciences in college.

“He said that we would need that foundation to be effective in the rapidly changing world,” recalled President Eyring at Wednesday’s ceremony at the University of Utah celebrating the completion of the school’s Applied Science Project.

Just weeks after claiming a physics degree from Utah’s flagship university, the younger Eyring was serving as a newly commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. To his surprise, he was assigned to a military special weapons project.

Gov. Spencer Cox and President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, talk during a ribbon-cutting event for the L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. Eyring is the son of University of Utah chemist Henry Eyring. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

“The only information that the (Air Force) had about me was that I had graduated from the University of Utah two weeks earlier,” said President Eyring, the second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“In the two years I served in that assignment, I saw my father’s promise fulfilled as I found myself able to resolve problems and make judgments which had the potential to affect the lives of people and nations across the world.”

Folks across the University of Utah campus — and throughout the state — are certain that all who study, teach and conduct scientific research at the school are being prepared to make similar contributions in the global science community.

Utah’s Crocker Science Complex: A scientific discovery hub

Gary Crocker, managing director of Crocker Ventures, and Mark Skaggs of the ALSAM Foundation help cut the ceremonial ribbon during a ribbon-cutting event for the L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Wednesday’s ribbon cutting ceremony marked the official completion of the $97 million Applied Science Project — which combines the newly built L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building with the renovated historic William Stewart Building and the Crocker Science Center.

Together, the three facilities form the Crocker Science Complex — a 275,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art locale for scientific study and research.

The project was funded by a $67.5 million state appropriation — combined with a $10 million gift from ALSAM Foundation (Skaggs Family) and $8.5 million from Gary and Ann Crocker ($19.7 million total for the Crocker Science Complex).

The new Applied Science Building “provides a 56% increase in the capacity of undergraduate physics labs,” Peter Trapa, Vice Provost/Senior Dean of the University’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, told the Deseret News.

Peter Trapa, University of Utah vice provost and senior dean of liberal arts and sciences, points to one of three dynamic light fixtures that are part of “Three Medusae” in the atrium of the new L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 14, 2025. Strings of beads move in patterns that can be programmed to change. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Almost every STEM student at the University of Utah will learn, collaborate and even conduct research at the building at some point during their time on campus, he added.

Meanwhile, the Crocker Science Complex will serve 37 different STEM degree programs — meaning every future nurse, chemist, engineer, statistician and software developer at the university will take classes in its buildings.

“It is truly a momentous day for science at the University of Utah,” Trapa said Wednesday.

Gov. Cox: Investing in science = Investing in people

In his remarks at Wednesday’s ceremony, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox saluted the individuals and organizations that donated to the university’s science complex project.

“It’s an honor to stand in this atrium today and talk about the brick and mortar spaces that lead to boundless opportunities and possibilities of discovery, innovation and education,” he said.

“This building represents Utah’s bold investment in the future — a future driven by research technology and the next generation of thinkers and doers. The classrooms and labs that are here will ignite curiosity, a characteristic that is sadly missing far too much in our public discourse these days."

The facility, Cox added, was built with “a strong partnership between state leadership, the university and the community.

“The same values that we use to teach science correlate perfectly to how we do things here in Utah: Collaboration and creativity with a commitment to putting the greater good in the forefront, and always seeking truth.

“When we invest in science, we invest in people.”

Cox added that at a time when the federal government is cutting back on funding for scientific initiatives, Utah is doing the opposite.

“We can be fiscally responsible and we can invest,” he said. “In fact, it is fiscal responsibility that requires us to invest in the future. Otherwise, all of those things that we enjoy today will be gone.

“We have to invest in the next generation.”

A place where ‘dreams will happen’

University of Utah President Taylor Randall shakes hands with President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, during a ribbon-cutting event for the L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. Eyring is the son of University of Utah chemist Henry Eyring. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

In his remarks, President Eyring spoke of how science has helped define his educational, professional and ecclesiastical experiences.

He spoke of his appreciation for teachers and professors who “help us to see the vastness of the physical world and the beauty of understanding it and the power that it gives us.

“I am grateful for teachers who strengthen my confidence that there is order in the physical world — which has and will be continuously better understood."

President Eyring then saluted the generosity of donors and university leaders who have made the Crocker Science Complex a reality. “My hope is that those who study here may follow your example to use whatever powers and resources they gain to lift and to bless others in future generations.”

In his remarks, University of Utah President Taylor Randall noted the essential role faith-driven educators such as W.W. Phelps, Orson Pratt and Henry Eyring played in establishing the school’s science bona-fides and global reputation.

“This is actually a place where students’ dreams will happen,” said Randall. “Whether they are undergraduates or graduate students, they will happen here. And many of the individuals that enter applied areas later on, will begin in this college with physics and mathematics.”

The University of Utah’s College of Science, he added, leads the country with its science research initiative.

“That means that freshmen — over 700 — start in the labs on projects that actually have real world application," he said. “And then if they stay with it to the end, they get to work with our biotech industry, performing experiments that will lead them on to those great, great things.

“This is a place where dreams will come true.”

Donors express faith in science and research

Peter Trapa, University of Utah vice provost and senior dean of liberal arts and sciences, speaks during a ribbon-cutting event for the L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Gary Crocker, the president of Crocker Ventures, spoke of he and his family’s decades-long relationship with the University of Utah’s science education community — and his gratitude for Utah’s elected leaders.

“I want to thank and acknowledge the leadership and the vision, persistence and the advocacy of Governor Cox,” said Crocker. “It’s been exceptional what he’s been able to do with the State Legislature in making this complex a reality.”

Crocker also saluted the Eyring family and the generosity of the religious organization in which he serves.

“The pivotal difference that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints makes in our community is literally impossible to measure — and its impact ripples through lives, worldwide."

The new L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building, Crocker added, is going to “ripple through the lives of tens of thousands of students.

“They will become our future physicians and our future nurses, our future scientists, our future pharmacists and astronomers and environmental scientists.

“They will form the core of this state’s industrial and commercial complex over the next 60 or 70 years.”

Mark Skaggs of the ALSAM Foundation spoke of his family’s belief in and continued commitment to the power of education. “We are big believers in this community and in this state and in this university...We love this university.”

Skaggs admitted to being fearful amid today’s politically-charged debates over the future of higher education.

“I’m actually afraid of where we’re headed,” he said, before referencing the slogan: “Make America Great Again.

”Explain to me how we do that when we cut the NIH budget by half and when we close program after program after program at key universities?"

Skaggs concluded saying he could not think of a better recipient of his foundation’s gift than to the university’s Applied Science Building. “Thank you for believing in what we believe in and what we’ve always believed in — and what hopefully will be a brighter future in this country."

Helping Utah’s science students ‘identify their passions’

An observatory is pictured on the roof of the new L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 14, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

College of Science Interim Dean Pearl Sandick concluded Wednesday’s ceremony envisioning the research and educational possibilities now afforded by the new Applied Science Building.

“Our programs in physics, astronomy and atmospheric sciences are internationally recognized in research and education, and they will now have the advantages of these modern facilities — making it possible for us to address scientific questions and societal challenges in new ways," Sandick said.

Lives and industries will be improved by the research happening at the University of Utah’s science complex. “The work done here will directly affect energy, water resources, public health and natural disaster preparedness.”

Universities play a vital role in society as hubs of scientific research and discovery. “Institutions like ours are where curiosity meets capacity; where ideas are explored, tested and transformed into knowledge that shapes our world.”

Utah students, Sandick added, remain the school’s central priority.

“This state of the art facility is going to provide them with new opportunities that will help them identify their passions, learn new techniques in modern laboratories, work side-by-side with faculty and prepare them for careers that are both rewarding and critical for our economy and national interests.”

John Lin, The Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy scientific director, talks about The Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy during a tour of the new L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 14, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret NewsJim Muller, University of Utah senior director of infrastructure, operations and strategy for liberal arts and sciences, looks to see if a "laser in use" sign illuminates yet at the new L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 14, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret NewsPearl Sandick, University of Utah College of Science interim dean, talks about the benefits of a rooftop classroom, with clear views of the Salt Lake valley, during a tour of the L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 14, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret NewsPeter Trapa, University of Utah vice provost and senior dean of liberal arts and sciences, gives a tour of the new L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 14, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret NewsJim Muller, University of Utah senior director of infrastructure, operations and strategy for liberal arts and sciences, gives a tour of an office at the new L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 14, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret NewsThe cloud physics lab is picture in the new L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 14, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret NewsFielding Norton, The Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy managing director, and John Lin, The Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy scientific director, talk on the roof of the new L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 14, 2025. Telescopes will be installed on the pedestals behind them. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret NewsOne of three dynamic light fixtures that is part of “Three Medusae” is pictured in the atrium of the new L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 14, 2025. Strings of beads move in patterns that can be programmed to change. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret NewsThe new L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building is pictured at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 14, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News