The new Daniele C. Struppa Research Park promises chalkboards and breakthroughs

Photo Courtesy of Adobe Stock

The school that led desegregation efforts in Orange County between Latino and white students now houses Chapman’s Institute for Quantum Studies (IQS). 

In 2020, Chapman purchased the historical Lydia D. Killefer Elementary School for $3.7 million. Renovations began in August 2023.

The Killefer school is a part of the National Registry of Historic Places and the California Register of Historic Resources. It is most remembered for its voluntary desegregation of Latino and white students in 1944, three years before the landmark Mendez v. Westminster court ruling, which ended segregation in California public schools. 

“Because of its historical significance, the university was required to maintain many of the historical features of this building, and we were committed to doing it,” said Andrew Jordan, quantum studies professor and co-director of IQS.

The building, which has a Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style, was built in 1931. In collaboration with historical consultants, Chapman has renovated and restored the school, creating the Daniele C. Struppa Research Park.

The Board of Trustees voted to name the facility after President Daniele C. Struppa last fall to honor his commitment to enhancing the university’s academic reputation. Under Struppa’s leadership, Chapman became an R2 research institution in 2019.

IQS, founded in 2008, is a research center for Chapman researchers and educators focused on the foundations of quantum physics. Although an independent institute, this division used to be housed within Schmid College of Science and Technology.

“It’s not a new institute, but it is the first time that it has had its own building. Ironically, we are closer to Schmid administratively than we ever were when we were housed in the same buildings,” said Matthew Leifer, program director of physics.

The researchers in IQS are excited for the new opportunities that come with having a dedicated space for them.

“Having our own building gives us a physical center of activities. We also have seminar space and meeting space, as well as social space. It makes it much easier to host events and conferences,” Jordan said.

As part of the restoration efforts of the Killefer, the original chalkboards were refurbished and reinstalled in the research center. This was important for historical preservation and something that Jordan insisted happened.

“When designing the new Daniele C. Struppa Research Park, a.k.a. the historic Killefer school, I insisted on two things: black slate chalkboards, lots of them, and Hagoromo chalk,” Jordan told The Panther.

Hagoromo Fulltouch Chalk is known for its smooth writing that produces minimal dust. Hagoromo Stationery started in 1932 in Japan, but went out of business in 2015. The chalk formula and production technology were then bought by Sejongmall Co., a South Korean company, in 2016. 

The chalk has gained a reputation among mathematicians and academics.

“It’s very tactile and sensual to write with the Hagoromo chalk on a proper slate board. The flow of the chalk on the slate is like nothing else,” Jordan said.

Chapman was able to obtain 10 boxes of the chalk, each with 72 pieces to be used in the new facility.

“There are few things as beautiful as a new formula or idea crisply written in white chalk on a slate blackboard, and few things as nasty as a whiteboard and its horrible pens,” Jordan said.

Minus a few final touches going on in the labs, the renovations are complete, and the IQS has fully moved in.

“We are moved in and ready for greater collaborations and explorations,” Jordan said.