Taking a look inside the Engineering building
Past the Business building and clear over the dorms is the Engineering building, home to engineering majors and graduate students and their faculty and advisors.
The engineering building has been around for more than 40 years. It was built between 1959 and 1960, originally to house the 600 to 700 engineering majors, including room for faculty and graduate students.
“Utah State University has always had a strong engineering and technical department, so when we outgrew the Ray B. West building, where the Engineering department was originally housed, it was time for our own building,” said Robert Davis, director of Industrial Relations and Development for the College of Engineering.
The student population has tripled since then, and there are 10 times more graduate students. The engineering department is trying to raise money to renovate the building;it doesn’t have room for so many students. It is also close to breaking fire safety regulations, and the structure isn’t earthquake safe, Davis said.
The renovation will bring modern technology, including interactive classrooms where students’ classmates will join them from around the nation on the Internet via digital video. The interactive classrooms will be located anywhere in the building; there does not have to be any special classroom for them.
“The building will be a discovery center in its own right,” Davis said.
The building will also be more than just brick and mortar. Much of the building will be surrounded by glass. Students will be able to see how everything works from the ground up. Students on the bottom floor will be able to see how the building looks underneath. Those on the top floor will be able to see the universe above.
The modern renovations will cost $33 million. After eight years, the department has secured $23 million in state funding. The Engineering department has to come up with the remaining $10 million privately, which is difficult right now with the downturn in the economy.
“Companies and people are still not so giving as they would have been before the downturn in the economy,” Davis said.
The state money was approved as part of Gov. Leavitt’s proposal to graduate more engineering majors out of Utah to keep Utah’s economy booming after the Olympics in 2002. He hopes more students with engineering degrees in Utah will attract companies to the state.
When construction begins, the grassy area east of the Merrill Hall will be part of the building; the laboratory will be refurbished and remodeled; the breezeway between the Engineering Classroom and lab wings will come down; and the building will have more work stations, space and technical equipment for outreach programs.
Engineering wasn’t popular when the university was young, but in 1927 a bill detailing USU’s course of study was enacted, and civil engineering was on the list. This was vital, because it showed that there was a difference between civil and agricultural engineering. Armed with a course of study, the department became that much more effective. Today, Utah State has a world-renowned engineering department – its staff was awarded the highest amount of research dollars per faculty member of all departments at USU this year. The department has 8,000 alumni, the majority of who work in the engineering field.