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A NEW and IMPROVED Engineering Building Offers LIMITLESS Possibilities
Most alums have experienced it: classrooms that are hot in summer and cold in winter. Straining to hear the professor over noisy window air conditioning units. Squinting to see the overhead projector in only semi-darkened rooms. Undesirable study areas. Uncomfortable chairs. The lack of aesthetics. And restrooms with perpetual plumbing problems.  "Jacobs Hall has not hindered my education, but it would be nice to be in a modern and comfortable building," says Erika Brown, a senior in biomedical engineering, echoing the feelings of many students and alumni."In searching for a university, I visited schools with much nicer facilities. I chose Vanderbilt because I was looking for an engineering program based in a liberal arts environment. I didn't want to just be surrounded by 'tech speak,' but to be around people with interests in music and art and literature outside of the technological world. But a better building would definitely be a plus in recruiting new students."The 50-year-old structure, the anchor of today's engineering complex, is beset with 50-year-old problems. Built as a "shell," it has been modified countless times with increased demands on an infrastructure inadequate for the high-tech world. Decades of alumni have received an excellent education at VUSE but encountered the building's inadequacies along the way.The situation soon will be remedied with a new building that showcases and augments the excellent teaching and research activities taking place inside. The two-year project, scheduled to begin in January, includes the demolition and rebuilding of the central wing, renovation of the original wing, and partial renovation of the remaining wing. The result will be a modern facility with state-of-the-art classrooms and office space that serves as a springboard to greater achievement.
The new facility will address another vexing problem: lack of community space. The School of Engineering never has had space designated solely for student interaction."Building 'community' is a goal of the Engineering Student Council," says Brown, the group's president. "We want to enhance the feeling of community among students, and having a place to study together, work on group projects, and to
'hang out' would facilitate that process. Right now students only see one another in the hall or computer lab."Architects designed the new building around the need for community space. Common areas throughout will help promote social interaction among the general student population and/or peer learning within individual departments.The building accomplishes other goals -- that of creating a "front door" identity and a locus of engineering activity on the central campus. The main entrance, marked by a tower, will draw visitors to the School of Engineering and direct them to the three-story atrium, the heart of the building. Students and faculty in computer science, now located off campus at the Village at Vanderbilt, will return to the new building. Engineering will then be contained in three buildings -- Olin, Stevenson, and the new facility -- all in close proximity.This new structure, along with the recently renovated engineering space in the Stevenson Center, will not just enhance student life, but allow VUSE to be more competitive for students, faculty, and research grants, better positioning the School and University to move up the ranks of the best schools in the nation, says Dean Kenneth Galloway.Bricks and MortarIn September, Vanderbilt's Board of Trust executive committee approved the project, the School's first building project since 1972 when Olin Hall was constructed. The $25 million core endeavor, with a $3 million additional option, already has received $13 million in commitments, an unprecedented record of giving by engineering alumni (see sidebar)."Alumni are thrilled about the project and are making financial commitments at a level never seen before," says Galloway. "They view the building's community space as something fundamental that has been missing all these years. And they are excited at how the building will enhance VUSE's identity, image, and environment."William Featheringill, '64, jumpstarted the project by donating funds to obtain architectural renderings. He continues to lead the fund-raising effort."To be competitive in attracting students and faculty, we need a competitive facility," he says. "Businesses and institutions either move forward or backward; they do not stand still. In view of Vanderbilt's current position of distinction, the challenge is to keep enhancing the quality and capability and reputation of the Engineering School and the University -- to stay ahead of the curve in terms of demands and trends."Construction begins in January with utility relocation, followed by demolition of the middle portion (wing 2) next summer. The new building will be constructed in its place and upon completion, renovation of the Jacobs Hall wing (wing 1) and partial renovation of wing 3 will commence. The entire undertaking should be completed by fall 2002.Departments of electrical engineering and computer science, civil and environmental engineering, and a portion of mechanical engineering will be housed in the facility. Classrooms to be used by all engineering departments are also in the plan.The modern brick and limestone addition blends in scale, proportion, and materials with the two existing wings, maximizing renovation for the cost, says Keith Loiseau, a Vanderbilt architect and project manager. "The project is not about added space but about improved space," he points out. (Only 20,000-30,000 additional square feet will be added to the School's current program space.) "The building will be efficient, with departmental offices in close proximity to faculty and graduate student offices, a great improvement over the present arrangement."New electrical, HVAC, and plumbing systems, including a main sewer, are being installed. In addition, the revamped building will include a number of special features:
Depending upon the success of continuing fundraising efforts, the full renovation of wing 3; addition of an exterior courtyard, expanding the atrium's dynamics outdoors; and expanded equipment and furnishings budgets will be incorporated. This enhanced package is estimated in the $28 million range.Ironically, when Dean Fred Lewis erected the building in 1950, he shared some of the present concern for creating "community" in the School. His intention was to "get the entire School under one roof," said the late professor and school historian Dillard Jacobs, '32, for whom wing 1 of the building was later named. Prior to 1950, the School of Engineering was scattered among Mechanical Engineering Hall and Annex (now part of the Owen Graduate School of Management), Science Hall, and the basement of Kirkland Hall. Dean Lewis surely would look at the current plans and smile.
Improved Teaching and ResearchSince teaching and research are inextricably linked at VUSE, improvements in teaching space reap research benefits that in turn benefit the classroom. Research exposes undergraduate and graduate students to cutting edge work, administrators say, translating into high quality education. And external research support brings to VUSE worldclass equipment and financial support for students and faculty.Just as the building hasn't "hindered education," as Erika Brown says, it hasn't stopped research activity or recruitment of top-notch faculty. Eleven junior faculty members with great potential in teaching and research have joined the School since 1997. During the 1998-99 academic year, VUSE received almost $13 million in awards for such research areas as biomedical imaging and biomedical optics, model integrating computing, radiation effects in solid-state electronics, micro-robotics, and laser diagnostics for combustion. Being engineers, the faculty have been ingenious in fulfilling their research mission despite the inadequate facility, says Art Brodersen, chair of electrical engineering and computer science. Whether hanging exhaust pipes out the window, gerryrigging this or that piece of equipment, attaching extra isolation power supply equipment, or collaborating with other research institutions, faculty have found a way to make their research work. But anecdotal information suggests the present building has caused the School to lose some key recruits. A faculty candidate recently chose not to come to Vanderbilt, saying the structural engineering laboratory was inferior to those of third-world universities. Upgrades scheduled for that lab include such new equipment as an overhead crane, strong floor, and shake table to enable Guillermo Hahn, associate professor, and others to physically test theories they derive, something now not possible. The advances will undoubtedly improve education and expand research opportunities in the civil and environmental engineering department, says chair Edward Thackston.Thomas R. Harris, chair of biomedical engineering, knows firsthand the benefits of upgraded space. Harris's department in the renovated Stevenson Center previously was housed in Jacobs Hall. "Our new space is well-planned and well-kept and presents a better face to outside constituencies," he says "Funding agencies are cognizant of the significant improvements in our labs. Through new equipment and space, we project a confidence that earlier was not possible." Indeed, he credits the improvements for helping to land a recent $10 million National Science Foundation grant. The grant will establish at VUSE the first NSF Engineering Research Center dedicated to bioengineering education. Many of the teaching and research improvements to be realized from the new building revolve around new configurations of space, says Brodersen."The present building is so carved up there are great inefficiencies in layout and functionality," he says. "The new design not only encourages a more cohesive student body, it consolidates labs and provides learning clusters for graduate students, who now literally work out of broom closets because of lack of space. Departmental faculty are currently scattered but will be housed in contiguous space in the new building to enhance existing synergies in teaching and research."Basic infrastructure improvements such as increased electrical power and central air are very important, he adds. "The HVAC system will not only provide climate control, but also enable us to connect exhaust hoods as needed. And because the building is versatile, it can be adapted for future research needs."The School of Engineering will enter the 21st century with a building worthy of a top 20 university. A building that attracts even more top quality students like Erika Brown and key faculty like Dan Fleetwood, who joined VUSE this fall after a 15-year research career with Sandia Laboratories. His research field is radiation effects on microelectronics and the radiation response and longterm reliability of microelectronics in space environments. "I collaborated on research with Dean Galloway and professors Ron Schrimpf and Lloyd Massengill for the past 10 years, and knew of the related research strengths of many other faculty members in the department," he says. "Other universities have better facilities than Jacobs Hall, but I came to Vanderbilt because of the greater potential here for building a research program based on the strength of the faculty. Radiation effects is a highly collaborative field, and there are a number of faculty members at Vanderbilt with whom I can interact."The new building is a positive and necessary step toward the future, however, he says. "To some extent perception is reality. An out-of-date facility may convey the message that the program is outdated. That is not the case at Vanderbilt, but we need to update the image."Following this renovation project, perception will equal reality: The sky's the limit.
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