A beam signing ceremony held on Friday, May 5 marked the halfway point of construction for the new Anschutz Engineering Center. CU Foundation Trustees, faculty, staff and students joined this longstanding tradition by signing the beam. Chancellor Reddy thanked the trustees for helping celebrate this milestone, along with President Saliman and Regent Spiegel.
The College of Engineering and Applied Science (EAS) broke ground on the Anschutz Engineering Center on Aug. 26, 2022. Completion and occupancy of the building is slated for Jan. 2024.
The 24,000 square foot center will help accommodate growing numbers of students in the EAS college, including students pursuing new aerospace degrees. The Pikes Peak Region’s growth in key aerospace and technology business sectors has placed demand or more graduates to drive the success of the region. The new high-performance, energy-efficient facility will support expanded research and laboratory space.
Enrollment for EAS has more than doubled since 2008 and this growth is likely to continue. The center will also help serve the Colorado Springs community as the demand for engineers and computer scientists in the region’s workforce increases, with approximately 200 companies in the region alone seeking EAS graduates.
Several components are planned for the new space, with focus on laboratories, classrooms, conference spaces, offices, student support centers and research spaces.
The building is three stories and adjacent to the current engineering hall, providing access back and forth. The first floor will hold classrooms, a traditional computer lab, a Computer Pods Lab that better allows for working in teams and an impressive Space Systems Lab that passers-by will be able to view from large front windows. The second floor will focus on Aerospace engineering and research, and the third floor will concentrate on expanding capacity in Electrical and Computer engineering.
Funding for the project comes from The Anschutz Foundation, the CU Foundation and the CU President’s Fund. Alumni and local industry partners have been key contributors to the facility through philanthropic donations and technology contributions.