Renovations Engineer Research Technology
The newly renovated Gavin Engineering Research Laboratory, which will accommodate emerging research initiatives through updated, state-of- the-art facilities, includes an additive manufacturing facility that provides students with experience in fabrication technology and the new Center for Polymer and Advanced Composites that will enhance research in this area to meet industry needs. The former Textile Building was renovated as a result of $10.5 million in gifts from Charles E. Gavin III, a 1959 textile management graduate, and his late wife, Carol Ann.
The building also includes traditional research laboratories, a facility for the Nuclear Power Generations Systems Program, a new wind tunnel system, a pulp and paper pilot machine, a series of hands-on student project areas, and collaborative meeting spaces.
The project, which included the demolition of the Engineering Shops and L Building, also created the Carol Ann Gavin Garden. Originally constructed in 1929, the newly renovated laboratory building incorporates advanced technologies capable of serving students and faculty well into the future.