For the first time in 40 years, an academic building is being constructed for use by the College of Engineering at NC State.

A formal groundbreaking ceremony was held Friday on Centennial Campus, where the new building will be located. Engineering Building I, as it will be known, will house the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and will include classrooms, laboratories and offices.

The last College of Engineering building constructed for academic purposes was Mann Hall, which was built between 1962 and 1964.

"This is a very critical first step in allowing the entire campus to grow and expand in order to meet the needs," said Nino A. Masnari, dean of the College of Engineering, "because once we vacate the buildings on Main Campus, it will allow all the other colleges to expand their programs."

Engineering I is the first step in a College of Engineering plan to move all of its facilities to Centennial Campus over the next 10 to 15 years.

"When I assumed the position of dean, one of my top priorities was to address the fact that we really needed a state-of-the-art College of Engineering to meet the needs of the students, the companies and the overall economic climate of North Carolina," Masnari said. "So we set out on a mission to move the college here, and I'm delighted that we are here today for the groundbreaking of the very first building."

Stuart Cooper, provost at NC State, added that "in a way the College of Engineering is made for Centennial Campus and the philosophy of what we're trying to accomplish here with respect to our interaction with industry and interdisciplinary research in general."

The new building, which will be funded by the bond referendum passed in November, 2001, will include approximately 150,000 square feet and cost roughly $25 million. Shelco Inc, a North Carolina-based company led by several graduates of NC State's Department of Civil Engineering, will serve as contractor. The architectural firm of Perkins and Will designed the building.

Posted October 28, 2002

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