April 1, 2008

Governor Celebrates New Engineering Building

Gov. Mike Easley raises his shovel after breaking ground on the new building. (Photo: Roger Winstead)

Gov. Mike Easley celebrated the groundbreaking of Engineering Building III on Centennial Campus in February, likening the event to starting “a great big engine” for North Carolina’s economy.

"This school knows how to turn out the most innovation per student for every dollar that we invest," Easley said.

Engineering Building III (EB III) is the future home of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Joint NC State/UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Biomedical Engineering. The 248,291-square-foot building, which is scheduled to open in August 2010, will include approximately 80 laboratories, a wind tunnel facility, eight classrooms, and offices for faculty and graduate students.

EB III will include approximately 80 laboratories, a wind tunnel facility, eight classrooms, and offices for faculty and graduate students.

	Engineering Building III is scheduled to open in August 2010. (Rendering: Perkins & Will)

In 2007, U.S. News and World Report ranked the College’s undergraduate degree program 17th best among public colleges of engineering whose highest degree is a doctorate. The College ranked eighth among all U.S. engineering schools in the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded. 5. Let's put the following caption in italics under the video: Highlights of Gov. Easley's groundbreaking address.

"We do know that this … College of Engineering … is now one of the best that there is but can be the best in the country," Easley said. "And that’s what we want. That’s where we’re headed. That’s where we’re going to be."

Dr. Louis Martin-Vega, dean of the College of Engineering, often mentions the College’s goal of becoming the top public engineering school in the nation.

Chancellor James L. Oblinger helps celebrate the groundbreaking. (Photo: Roger Winstead)

The groundbreaking, he said, was a "big part of the creating of the engineering college of the future here, today." Also attending was Rep. Joe Hackney, the Speaker of the N.C. House of Representatives, who noted that the biomedical engineers trained in the new building will help biotechnology and health-related industries "continue to flourish" in North Carolina.

"In this age, when graduates in engineering fields are increasingly at a premium … North Carolina is very fortunate to have a university, a great university, that trains so many engineers and helps to provide a steady supply of high-quality engineers," Hackney said.

The keynote speaker was Neal Hunter, who graduated from NC State in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. Hunter co-founded Cree, Inc. and LED Lighting Solutions, Inc., and spoke about how NC State prepared him for an entrepreneurial career.

"These buildings … are the cornerstones for continuing and expanding on the success that our state enjoys in the area of engineering talent," Hunter said.

-degraff-

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