ODU's Engineering Systems Building Spotlighted in National Magazine

November 12, 2014

Oktay Baysal

Old Dominion University's Engineering Systems Building, the nerve center for engineering research and study on campus, which has opened only this year, is featured in this month's issue of PE Magazine, published by the National Society of Professional Engineers.

In the article "Building for Tomorrow" engineering college facility upgrades around the country are featured, including ODU's 51,000-square-foot Engineering Systems Building.

"Engineering colleges and departments are building and renovating facilities, spending millions to provide new classrooms, meeting spaces and labs. What are the drivers for all the recent activity?" author Eva Kaplan-Leiserson writes.

The piece explores how growing enrollments, evolving approaches to engineering education and the quest for ever-greener buildings are driving colleges and universities to push the envelope in their campus construction of engineering facilities.

Oktay Baysal, Dean of ODU's Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology, is featured in the article. He said changes in engineering education include introducing teaching methods that go beyond the classroom. Baysal said the Engineering Systems Building, designed by RRMM Architects, reduced faculty office space and increased the size of the interaction area, which is called the "collaboratory."

The desks in the Engineering Systems Building allow 3D visualizations and are reorganizable, and glass walls can be written on and seen from both sides.

"Someone said, 'Did you get these ideas from Google?'" Baysal told the magazine. "Not the idea but the interactivity." Baysal added that ODU had been trying to incorporate new ways of teaching before the new facility was built, by the physical space wasn't as conducive.

The Engineering Sytems Building houses central functions of the ODU Engineering like the dean's office and boardroom space, as well as a core need of both the College of Science and the College of Engineering-a high-quality clean room facility.

The state-of-the-art, building also houses biomedical engineering labs, a lasers lab, a plasma science lab and a dynamic simulation lab, among other assets.

PE magazine is the flagship publication of the National Society of Professional Engineers. Published 10 times per year, PE covers news and commentary on professional issues: licensing, engineering ethics, employment, legislative and regulatory issues, education, and many others that have a direct impact on professional engineers.