Construction Slated to Begin on New Engineering Buildings

Construction is scheduled to begin on two new buildings for the College of Engineering – a multidisciplinary teaching and research facility and a new wind tunnel facility.

The teaching and research building — to be called Stinson-Remick Hall in honor of principal benefactors Kenneth (B.S., CEGEOS ’64) and Ann Stinson and Jack (B.S., AME ’59) and Mary Ann Remick — will house a 142,000-sq.-ft. nanotechnology research center, the University’s Energy Center, an 11,800-sq.-ft. semiconductor processing and device fabrication clean room, and an interdisciplinary learning center for undergraduate education that is four times the size of the current center, which is currently located in the John F. Cushing Hall. Stinson is a member of the University’s Board of Trustees, and Remick is a member of the College of Engineering Advisory Council.

The learning center within the new building will be named in honor of major benefactors Ted H. and Tracy McCourtney. A 1960 graduate of the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, McCourtney is also a member of the University Board of Trustees.

College of Engineering representatives have been working with BSA Life Structures of Indianapolis to design the building, which will sit on Notre Dame Avenue, opposite of the Eck Visitor’s Center and Notre Dame Bookstore. Facilities within the building include an ultra-high vacuum crystal growth system, electronic materials and device area, and an extensive materials characterization area. Construction is expected to begin in late 2007 with completion projected for late 2009 or early 2010.

On the opposite side of campus, north of Douglas Rd., construction began earlier this year on a unique research laboratory that will house a $3 million wind tunnel, $1.8 million turbine facility, a $0.5 million compressor facility, offices for visiting industry partners to use during projects, a conference area, and a small model shop. The closed wind tunnel is much larger in scale than any of the other wind tunnels on campus. It is also unique from most facilities available on a university campus, offering features such as a top speed of Mach 0.6, very low turbulence levels, a 3-ft. test section, and internal cooling. (The new wind tunnel will run on a 1,750 HP motor and features a dual-stage fan that is 8 ft. in diameter. The fan weighs 19,000 lbs. and will cool 350 thermal tons, the equivalent of cooling 100 homes.)

Faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates working in the Center for Flow Physics and Control will work with industry partners on a variety of aerodynamic projects in the facility. Completion is estimated for September 2007.

Copyright 2007. University of Notre Dame.