New building on campus expands University’s research
- Aug. 20, 2012
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- udkne.ws/SgXYJq
Besides freshmen, the University will welcome a new addition to campus: a state of the art engineering research facility.
A completed lab in the New Engineering building on campus. The building has many finished rooms such as this, but the interior is still not completely finished.
The Measurement, Materials and Sustainable Environment Center (M2SEC) located south of Learned Hall will utilize experimental architecture, enhance the educational experience for students and allow the University to pursue cutting edge research.
“This new building and its laboratories will be a major draw to new students because we’ll be able to do things we’ve never been able to do before,” said Sarah Seguin, assistant professor of electrical engineering.
The new facilities include an anechoic chamber, which allows Seguin and students to test electronics at an industry level – both in and out of the classroom.
“Now that we have this resource, we’ll be able to make students more marketable and expand the employment options for them,” Seguin said. “It will give students practical experience, and be a facility for world class research.”
Seguin hopes to expand the number of student research assistants in the future with the addition of the building. Brian Cordill, a graduate student from Olathe is one of six students currently working with Seguin and expects to begin testing electronic equipment in the new building as early as next week.
“There’s no chamber of this size within 800 miles,” Cordill said. “It’s a big deal for the work I’m going to be doing.”
Cordill said he is excited to begin work in the building and that no other facility compares with it in the state.
Prajna Dhar, assistant professor of chemical engineering, plans to move her laboratory into the M2SEC in the next few weeks.
“We have many undergraduates interested in more possibilities for research, and the new building will enable students to be a part of these interdisciplinary research efforts,” Dhar said.
Dhar pointed to the M2SEC’s strength as being built on the concept of interdisciplinary research. Although Dhar focuses of nano imaging, but she said working with professors of different fields on collaborative work will be easier. Currently 10 students work with Dhar, which she only expects to increase with the addition of the facility.
“Students will have access to one of the best facilities on campus,” Dhar said.
—Edited by Luke Ranker
Marshall Schmidt is a graduate student majoring in biomedical engineering from Mount Hope. Read more from Marshall Schmidt.
