With a 66% increase in student enrollment over the past decade, a new third UNLV engineering building begins it’s construction as the university celebrates with a groundbreaking event on campus.
The new Advanced Engineering Building will be 52,000 square feet and is designed with a state-of-the-art exterior. The building is also envisioned to be three stories tall. With this addition, the college will be able to increase its enrollment by 2,000 students where they can also participate in research labs and workspaces.
“They were absolutely bursting at the seams,” UNLV President Keith Whitfield said to the audience. “They needed more space to do incredible things that they’ve been doing.”
“We are in debt, extremely in debt as legislators to dean Rama Venkat and his team,” Nevada Legislature Joyce Woodhouse said. “They came to us. They answered our questions. I mean I’m sure they walked away and said a few bad words, but we never heard it. And we just kept working together to find a way to bring to fruition this vision that we all had.”
Dean of the College of Engineering, Rama Venkat told the Scarlet & Gray that Woodhouse and others were instrumental in helping them attain the money needed for the building.
UNLV put $36.8 million down and the state legislature matched the university’s contribution. With the help of private donors, the college was able to add $9.4 million to the pot to complete the total cost of development and construction.
One of the floors will have a makerspace, flexitoriam, and design space for all engineering students. They will be able to go in with an idea and transform it into reality by constructing it.
Two other floors will be dedicated to research in the fields of sustainability, robotics, cybersecurity, biomedical research and more, according to Venkat.
“By 2030 we will be able to add 25 more faculty members,” Venkat said. “Currently we have 350 engineering undergraduate students and the additional building will allow us to graduate approximately 500 students each year.”
The Advanced Engineering Building will be a that is set to be finished in 2024.
