Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, recently celebrated the start of construction on a 90,000-square-foot, three-story Applied Engineering Building.
The new building will serve as a home for the Engineering Technology and Mechatronics Engineering programs as well as provide space for future engineering programs to meet the growing demand for graduates in this expanding industry.
The AEB will be centered around collaborative, hands-on learning and will include flexible learning and laboratory spaces, spacious gathering areas, lobby areas to feature technology displays and student projects and lecture space to host faculty instruction, guest speakers, special events, and student-led organizations.
In addition, the new building will provide research laboratory spaces and technologies to both faculty and students. These new spaces will create research collaborations that support the exploration of emerging technologies, experiential and integrative learning applied to real-world problems and applied engineering solutions while fostering opportunities for research partnerships with businesses, industry organizations, government agencies and other educational institutions.
With design led by Wold Architects and Engineers, a local architectural and engineering firm with extensive education design expertise, alongside Cooper Carry, this new hands-on learning environment will prepare students for a broad range of professional careers in engineering and technology disciplines.
A ground-breaking ceremony was held June 20 and was attended by staff, students, community members and project partners. The AEB will make the university’s Department of Engineering Technology building and School of Concrete and Construction Management building next-door neighbors on the east side of campus, with completion of the project anticipated in 2025.
