First- and second-year engineering, mathematics and science students at Louisiana Tech’s College of Engineering and Science (COES) will get a brand new experience starting in Fall 2019.
While the College will continue to focus on hands-on, interdisciplinary education, first-and second-year students will attend classes, perform research, program Arduinos, and build prototypes in a new learning space: the Integrated Engineering and Science Building, a three-story, 130,000 square-foot addition to the Louisiana Tech campus.
The IESB, which will be located on the large lot east of Tech Pointe and span from Dan Reneau Drive to Texas Avenue, will alleviate congestion that put strain on classrooms and labs as enrollment in engineering and science classes at Tech has grown. The building will be the largest academic building on any Louisiana Tech campus and will provide much needed space for classrooms, labs, and faculty offices. In addition, a green space behind the building will accommodate up to 1,000 people for student activities and College events, providing students, faculty, and staff with a gathering space for study and recreation.
Housing the College’s Office of Undergraduate Studies and a student achievement center where students can buy parts, kits, and prototype equipment that they need for hands-on courses, the building will provide a central area for students from majors across the College, promoting more interdisciplinary team building. It will provide active learning areas for them to collaborate on projects and research.
While students will continue to take advanced classes in Bogard Hall, the Biomedical Engineering Building, Carson-Taylor Hall, George T. Madison Hall, and Nethken Hall, freshman and sophomore courses will be held in the new building. Living with the Lab and Living with Cyber courses will be occupy the first floor, math classes will be conducted on the second, and physics and chemistry labs will be held on the third. In addition to labs and shops for students, there will be office spaces for faculty teaching in the facility representing all disciplines across the entire College.
Dr. Hisham Hegab, dean of the College of Engineering and Science, said that the building will provide students with more than new learning spaces.
“This new facility will greatly expand our ability to provide project-driven curricula for all of the programs across our College,” he said. “It has been designed to create interactive spaces for students and faculty to work and collaborate. We expect it will be a place that students choose to be whether they are attending class, working on design projects, or simply spending time with their fellow students.”
As with many COES projects, the success of the fundraising campaign is due in a large part to external donors. Thanks to generous donations from alumni and corporate sponsors and to capital outlay funds from the State of Louisiana, the College met its fundraising goals for the first portion of the project, and is now raising money for furniture, equipment and other needs.
Naming opportunities are still available for offices, classrooms and labs throughout the building. For more information about the project and giving opportunities, contact the Division of Advancement at 318.255.7950.
