Two hundred faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of Vanderbilt University's School of Engineering recently gathered to break ground for the $28 M Jacobs Hall Addition and Renovation. The three-story, 150,000 square-foot facility will unite the departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering, giving the School of Engineering a new campus identity.

"This is a terrific day for the School of Engineering. The new building and the renovation of adjacent places will energize our faculty and serve our students well," announced School of Engineering Dean, Dr. Kenneth Galloway.

The building will feature state-of-the-art classrooms, computing, teaching and research laboratories organized around a three-story atrium, allowing students and faculty access to new technologies, modern teaching and research facilities, and casual gathering spaces. The ground floor of the building will showcase classrooms, lecture halls and shop space, and indoor and outdoor public gathering spaces, while the upper floors will house first-class teaching and research labs. Amenities incorporated into the design include two large computer classrooms, a 120-person multimedia classroom, wireless computer networking, student study areas, and dedicated rooms for student organizations.