Shovelling to the future one pile of dirt at a time

Ground was broken Oct. 28 on the new Math, Science, and Engineering Teaching-Learning Center (MSET) building behind Berkner Hall, to be completed May 2010.

Science labs are being used nearly every spare minute, and a new facility will be a big help, said associate biology department head Dennis Miller.

"We really need it immediately, not by 2010," said Miller, who also helped to plan spaces in the MSET.

The building, which is priced at $29.7 million, will provide almost 74,000 square feet of classroom space for math, science and engineering, said Vice President for Business Affairs Calvin Jamison.

MSET will primarily house lecture halls for courses in chemistry, physics, mathematics and geosciences with some laboratories, including a large lecture hall, several large classrooms, and a variety of labs. It will relieve crowding in Berkner and the Founders Building next door, which is currently being renovated, Jamison said.

"We're expanding as a university and need room for instruction," Jamison said. "This ties into a very aggressive building campaign."

"It's very much needed. Our students will benefit greatly from it," said associate professor of chemistry John Sibert.

The additional space will allow the biology program to double its enrollment, said biology professor Scott Rippel.

Miller said that the MSET's labs will be tailored to each course for which they will be used.

Rippel said that some rooms will be made for intensive, small-group study.

"Large and small lecture halls have seating designed to allow students to sit close to the front of the room as well as swivel around to work in groups," said science education professor Cynthia Ledbetter.

Sibert said that improved methods in math and science education are part of a national initiative to improve retention in freshman-level courses and train more scientists and engineers.

"The data show we could certainly use more engineers," he said.

Jamison said he asks UTD occupants to "pardon our progress" as the MSET is built simultaneously with a residence hall, dining facility and new student services building.

"[The MSET] should have a nice flow on campus," Jamison said. "It provides another anchor to a growing build-out of our master plan."

The MSET, which will have three floors and a fourth for technical equipment, is being built by construction firm Adolphson-Peterson and should be finished in May 2010, Jamison said.

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