Details Of Final Construction Phase Revealed
C
onstruction continues on the final phase of the $39 million Sis and Herman Dupré Science Pavilion which houses the classrooms, offices and laboratories for the Herbert W. Boyer School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics, and Computing. This construction involves the renovation of the former Physics Building on the west side of the Pavilion and provides classrooms, conference rooms, and faculty offices for the Departments of Computing and Information Science (CIS), Mathematics, and Physics. The ground floor will continue to house the College’s centralized network servers that support the delivery of Internet, email, and other services throughout campus. Two adjacent classrooms will be renovated, one to continue to serve as a classroom and the other as a computing lab. Two physics labs will be constructed on the first floor. The modern physics and optics labs will be used to teach the fundamentals of atomic physics, wave nature of systems, applications of optical principles, and radioactivity. The electronics lab will be used to teach circuit design, printed circuit board fabrication, and microcontroller programming. Two physics research labs will also be constructed and will be utilized for performing research in computational, experimental, and theoretical physics. Among ongoing projects are the study of electromagnetic properties of quantum systems, material testing, statistical models in thermodynamics, and spectral analyses of quasars. The physics space will also contain five laboratory support rooms and a cluster of five faculty offices. The pavilion already contains a general physics laboratory, physical science laboratory, and the Angelo J. Taiani Planetarium. The function of the planetarium is to study observational
astronomy, and to provide educational shows for the public. One computer classroom and two computer labs for the CIS department will be located on the second floor. The computer classroom will have more than 20 personal computers and two servers, along with various software available for courses in the Computing and Information Science curriculum including Windows 7 Professional®, Visual Studio®, Microsoft Office®, Python®, Prolog®, IIS® and Apache® web servers, the SQL Server database, the MySQL database, as well as software for learning animation and game development. One of the two computer labs will be equipped with 11 PCs and MacIntosh computers along with software for mobile application development and other types of software projects and research. The other computer lab is designed for IT and computer security research and projects. It will be equipped with five personal computers, a server hosting multiple virtual machines, three routers, and three managed switches. The second floor also contains a conference room, a tutoring room, and ten offices to serve the faculty in the Mathematics and Computing and Information Science departments. Dr. Stephen Jodis, dean of the Boyer School, said having all of the school’s departments together is an exciting development. “The 110,000-square-foot structure will enhance our sense of community and foster opportunities for interdisciplinary projects and interactions,” he added. The building incorporates sustainable design and achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification. A geothermal heating and cooling system provides environmentally comfortable and responsible energy efficiencies. The building will also employ many other energy-saving devices such as occupancy sensors that automatically turn lights on and off, water-conserving plumbing fixtures in the restrooms, and extensive use of glass for natural lighting. In conjunction with the building renovation, a researchgrade telescope observatory will be erected adjacent to the building. It will feature a brick structure to match the pavilion with a rotating dome. A 14-inch Celetron computer-controlled telescope with an imaging camera will be installed inside the dome. The observatory will have Internet and networking access. Architect for the project is MacLachlan Cornelius and Filoni, Inc. General contractor Jendoco expects to have all of the work completed by December. —Don Orlando
Construction is underway on the final phase of the $39 million Sis and Herman Dupré Science Pavilion, that will provide classrooms, offices, and laboratories for the Departments of Computing and Information Science, Mathematics, and Physics. Saint Vincent Magazine
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Fall 2012