Demolition of Engineering Trailers at UB Signals Start of A New Era

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Twenty years after it was constructed to serve the needs of the University at Buffalo's growing engineering programs, the Engineering Trailer Complex on UB's North (Amherst) Campus was demolished to make way for a new School of Engineering and Applied Sciences building.

The demolition of the 10 trailers will clear the way for the groundbreaking next spring for a new building that will become the sixth in the engineering school complex. It will be the first new engineering building at UB in more than 20 years.

"In years to come, the new building on this site will attract outstanding researchers and aspiring students who will produce valuable new research and innovative technologies, as well as a highly skilled workforce for this region," said Harvey G. Stenger, Jr., dean of the school, the largest and most comprehensive public school of engineering in New York State. "The demolition of these trailers symbolizes an important first step toward helping us to achieve our ambitious goals."

The new building will modernize programs and facilities for the departments of Computer Science and Engineering and Electrical Engineering. The planned 130,000-square-foot structure will boast a "clean room" for intricate work with nanodevices; a "cybertorium" with sophisticated communications devices and smart technology; and flexible research labs, classrooms and meeting areas for interdisciplinary work.

The facility will allow UB Engineering to use its current buildings to expand existing programs, and grow into new, high-demand fields like biomedical engineering.

UB Engineering is in critical need of additional research and teaching space, with planned increases of 30 percent in both faculty and enrollment by the time the new building is scheduled to open in fall 2011.

These goals are aligned with the UB 2020 strategic plan, which aims to grow UB by 40 percent between now and the year 2020 and to invest in areas of strategic strengths such as information and

computing technology and integrated nano-structured systems in which UB Engineering will play a lead role.

New York State has embraced the engineering school's vision by providing $49.6 million toward the $73 million needed to build the structure. UB Engineering currently is engaged in a fundraising effort to generate the remaining $23 million in private funds.

A simulation of the trailers disappearing and the new building rising can be viewed at http://www.eng.buffalo.edu/dean/newbuilding.html. It was created by UB staff.

Artist's renderings of the new building, developed by the architectural firm Perkins+Will, are at http://www.eng.buffalo.edu/newbuilding/drawings/.

Founded in 1946, the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has 150 faculty members and an enrollment of more than 2,300 students. UB Engineering offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in six departments. The school's annual research expenditures are approximately $50 million; its per-faculty research expenditure puts it in the top 10 percent of U.S. engineering schools, according to data from the National Science Foundation. UB Engineering works with corporate partners in a variety of ways ranging from joint research ventures, to continuing education, to co-op work arrangements for students.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.