The $20 million Fritz and Dolores Russ Engineering Center opened in 1992
and provides 173,000 square feet of space for the College of Engineering
and Computer Science. The center has space for the administrative
offices for the Dean of the College and the Departments of Biomedical,
Industrial and Human Factors Engineering, Computer Science and
Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical and Materials
Engineering.
The Russ Engineering Center is the primary site of the teaching and
research activities for the college, and serves approximately 1,200
undergraduate and 500 graduate engineering and computer science
students. The center provides 10 classrooms for classes varying in size
from 16 to 94 students, 63 laboratories for undergraduate and graduate
education and research, offices for faculty and full-time graduate
students, as well as state-of-the-art classroom and laboratory space
dedicated to continuing education courses.
All four of the college's departments have laboratory space and
equipment comparable to any across the country. All of the laboratories,
which support both teaching and research activities, are well-equipped
with state-of-the-art equipment. Many of the laboratories, like those in
mechanical and material science and engineering, use heavy industrial
equipment and are located in the high-bay area of the building where
ceiling clearances are 18 feet and the concrete floors are 6 inches
thick. In addition, laboratories involved in vibration-sensitive
research, such as optical computing, are located on foam-buffered,
12-inch concrete slabs. All labs are protected with access-card readers
which limit entry to students and faculty with bona fide requirements.
