Courtesy of the Department of Mechanical Engineering A rendering of Mechanical Engineering's new facility.

New home on the horizon for Mechanical Engineering

A two-phase construction project to be completed by 2007 will give the Department of Mechanical Engineering a physical presence to match its academic reputation.

The new complex will consist of three contemporary buildings joined by glass-enclosed walkways and an enclosed atrium, and will significantly increase research and instructional laboratory, classroom, administrative and student space.

"We're really going from one of the worst buildings in the Big Ten to one of the best," said Gary Kinzel, professor and associate chair of mechanical engineering.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering is one of the University's highly ranked academic departments. In 2001, U.S. News and World Report ranked the undergraduate program 15th in the country among universities with Ph.D. programs, and in 2002 ranked the graduate program 18th out of more than 180 programs in the country. Yet Robinson Lab, built in 1908, is one of the University's worst deferred maintenance problems.

The new facility will not only remove a deferred maintenance headache, but will make more efficient use of the land, said Bernard Costantino, associate University architect. Robinson Laboratory is two stories, while the replacement facility will primarily be four stories.

Construction on the new 130,000-square-foot facility will begin in October 2003, on 19th Avenue directly across from the empty lot where the new Physics building is to be built. The two structures reflect the focus on research implicit in the University's Academic Plan.

The project is budgeted at $72.5 million, with $52.5 million requested from the state and $20 million being raised from private sources.

The building will be built in two phases, with phase one construction to begin in October 2003 and conclude in 2005, and phase two requiring two years after that.

The first phase will involve construction of about 70 percent of a research and instructional lab building on the site of the Neal and Faye Smith Park outside of Robinson Laboratory. The research laboratory will be named the Peter L. and Clara M. Scott Laboratory Building, to recognize a $5.8 million gift received from the Scotts, said Cheena Srinivasan, professor and chair of mechanical engineering.

Once completed, research equipment and instructional labs will be relocated from Robinson Lab and Robinson will be demolished, clearing the way for phase two, which includes construction of the remainder of the laboratory building, an auditorium, classrooms, administrative offices and space for student services.

Srinivasan said student space would increase significantly, from 700 square feet to 5,000 square feet, and include large, comfortable lounges, lockers, organizational meeting rooms and study rooms. Student services space essentially will double, from 1,200 square feet to 2,700 square feet.

Perhaps the biggest improvement will be in classroom space, with a gain of from 5,000 square feet to 17,000 square feet to be divided among 14 state-of-the-art classrooms wired for video projection systems and lap top computers. Currently, mechanical engineering has only three classrooms.

"We can teach very few of our classes in our own building right now," Kinzel said. "You can't haul the necessary equipment to other buildings for classes because it is too heavy."

The atrium is among a list of major gift opportunities remaining, including the naming of the student services and administration building, the office and classroom building, the instructional and research laboratories, lecture halls, and special use facilities within the buildings. For additional information, contact Srinivasan, professor and department chair, at 292-0503 or srinivasan.3@osu.edu, or Lester E. Barnhart, director of development, ME campaign, at 247-7297 or barnhart.1@osu.edu.

This rendering shows an aerial view of the new facility.

University remembers tragic events of Sept. 11

Campus events planned to commemorate

As our nation approaches the one-year anniversary of the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, plans are under way at Ohio State for a number of remembrances and commemorations.

At 8:15 a.m. on the 11th, Ohio State's ROTC units will begin a flag ceremony at the rock on the Oval side of Bricker Hall. A color guard will lower the flag to half-staff, "Taps" will be played, and service members will give a 21-gun salute. Unit members will then read the names of Ohio State faculty, staff and students who have been called to serve their country during the past year. A campuswide moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., when the first plane struck the first World Trade Center building, will be observed.

Later that day, a Universitywide remembrance will take place at 1 p.m. at Mirror Lake, pending completion of a renovation project at the lake. The event will feature a keynote address by Nancy Rogers, dean of the Moritz College of Law, poetry by English Professor David Citino, music and readings from the scriptures of various religions. A commemorative wreath will also be laid on the water at Mirror Lake.

Other units are also planning events:

• Special day-long radio coverage from WOSU-AM.

• A screening of "Underground Zero: Independent Filmmakers Respond to 9-11," 7 p.m. Sept. 13 at the Wexner Center.

• A Multicultural Center talk about homeland and security issues by different cultures, 3 p.m. Sept. 11 in 436 Ohio Union.

• Reflection and meditation at Chadwick Arboretum.

Additional information will be available in upcoming issues of the OSUToday e-mail for faculty and staff.

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