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MS&E Building Renovation Project: Building a Bridge and More
Demolition of the old foundry and old lab space on the building's south side. |
As anyone who has passed our way lately will have noticed, the MS&E building is being renovated. The two-phased project began in May 1996 and is scheduled to be completed by January 1998.
The renovation, while costly, is long overdue. "A building constructed in 1910 simply cannot meet the high-tech demands of an active, research-oriented Engineering Department," noted Department Chair Eric E. Hellstrom. Utility and infrastructure problems have plagued the department for years as networking and communication demands have taxed the infrastructure of the building to its breaking point.
The new space on the building's south side will include a state-of-the-art electron microscopy center on the first floor and a new department office and classrooms on the second floor. |
In addition to providing more and better lab, classroom and office space, the project involves remodeling the old foundry and creating a more stable environment for the electron microscopy center. The renovated building will have suites specifically designed for use in electron microscopy projects.
The two new classrooms will be state-of-the-art with audio, video and computer capabilities. The optical microscopy facility is being expanded by adding a new teaching lab with computers and software to collect, analyze, and print images digitally. The department's computer lab is also being expanded. Phase I, which is nearing completion, involved the demolition of the old foundry, the rebuilding of the first floor and the addition of new space to the second floor. Phase II, scheduled to begin in August, will remodel the existing space on the second floor and add an enclosed bridge that will connect the second floor of the Materials Science and Engineering Building to the second floor of the Engineering Research Building. This bridge may be the first of many enclosed bridges connecting buildings on the Engineering campus.