A webcam shows construction of the Centennial Engineering Center. Press the button on the bottom of the far right panel to "Request Control."

Developed with the input of faculty, industry representatives and other constituents, the Centennial Engineering Center will prepare better engineers and computer scientists for decades to come.

The new 158,000 sq. ft. $42 million Center will be the springboard for the School's expansion in teaching and research. It will also increase the School's capacity for innovation, multidisciplinary research, developing patents, creating new businesses, and economic growth.

Students will learn in technology-equipped classrooms, study in a variety of spaces designed for both solitude and collaboration, and work in labs with state-of-the-art equipment. In addition, they will have better access to advising, multicultural programs, and financial aid at new centralized offices for Engineering Student Services. With space for new programs and systems-based research, the School is planning to increase its current $27 million annual research to $40 million in five years.

This building will increase the School's capacity for innovation and growth.

• New classrooms with modern learning technology will replace crowded, outmoded facilities.
• State-of-the-art teaching labs will be available for educating students in key areas of technology.
• New research laboratories will help accelerate biomedical engineering and other critical research fields.
• The new building will be compliant with ABET accreditation reviews that recommended replacing existing buildings.
• The new facility will support centralized offices for student support services aimed at increasing diversity and promoting student success.
• The large research labs and space for collaborations with facilitate working with the UNM Health Sciences Center on critical medical research.
• A variety of conference areas and labs will facilitate supporting local companies.

Construction begins on Centennial Engineering Center

10-19-06 -- Construction began today on the $42 million, 158,000 sq. ft. Centennial Engineering Center. The building will house classrooms, student services, and teaching and research laboratories; expected completion date is Fall 2008.

Construction as of November 3, 2006

November 8, 2006

November 21, 2006

The Groundbreaking Ceremony, September 13, 2006

(Article from the New Mexico Daily Lobo, written by Jeremy Hunt)

Student Sarah Shannon was excited to see a dirt lot where Wagner Hall once stood. "Everything was rusty. Everything was just really awful in there," said Shannon, a civil engineering graduate student. "So, I think it's a good thing we're getting a new building."

More than 150 people gathered north of the Mechanical Engineering Building on Wednesday to celebrate the groundbreaking for the Centennial Engineering Center.

"Some feel this day was long in coming, but the important thing is it's here," said Joseph Cecchi, dean of the School of Engineering. Cecchi said the building should be occupied by the fall 2008 semester and is a milestone for the engineering school and the University. The $48 million project is the largest in UNM main campus history, he said.

David Harris, UNM's acting president, spoke at the ceremony. "When you talk about collaboration, this project and the way it's been funded is a perfect case study," he said. Private fundraising, several years of legislative appropriations and a student-funded bond issue paid for the building, he said. "We all need to recognize that this building in this location is going to represent the University into the future in a really superlative way," he said.

The building will be 145,000 square feet and will face University Boulevard near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, said Van Gilbert, the architect who designed Centennial Engineering Center.

Gilbert spoke at the ceremony. The building was modeled within the John Gaw Meem guidelines that characterize UNM, he said. It will have stepped facades, prominent entries, deeply recessed windows, sloped walls and a reddish-tan stucco exterior, he said.

"We have an extremely unique campus, the most unique campus in the United States - in the world actually," he said.

Centennial Engineering Center will replace Wagner Hall, which was primarily used for civil engineering, said Tamara Williams, director of marketing for the school of engineering.

The building will have more space, new technology and state-of-the-art research labs, she said.

Students, faculty and staff had to move their offices, labs and experiments from Wagner Hall to Tapy Hall.

The temporary home for engineering students has poor working conditions because of limited space and boarded windows, but it will be worth it once the new building is completed, Shannon said.

Cecchi agreed. "This building is really about the students," Cecchi said.

Centennial Engineering Center Kickoff Held April 5

5/5/06 -- A former astronaut and a Texas university president were the featured speakers at a kick off reception, Wednesday, April 5, for the UNM Centennial Engineering Center fundraising campaign. The School of Engineering hosted the event to gather support for construction of Centennial Engineering Center, as well as increase support for students, faculty and programs.

The campaign kick off event featured a talk by Sid Guttierrez, former Columbia Space Shuttle astronaut, currently manager of the Physical Sciences Department at Sandia National Laboratories. Also speaking were Dr. Charles Jennett, former president of Texas A&M International University and a professor and chairman of civil engineering at Syracuse University.

Scheduled for construction later this year, the new Centennial Engineering Center will be the springboard for next generation learning and increased research and economic growth.

The School is committed to providing superb education to students and preparing them to address water treatment and supply, alternative energy sources, disease diagnosis and treatment, and other issues that affect the way we live and work.

School of Engineering
Office of the Dean
Farris Engineering Center 107 - MSC01 1140
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
Phone: (505) 277-5521 Fax: (505) 277-1422
email: soe@unm.edu