The University's new $43.4 million interdisciplinary engineering research and educational building, Wilsdorf Hall, will be officially dedicated and opened in a ceremony this afternoon.
The main goal behind the construction of Wilsdorf Hall was to create a "world-class facility for world-class research," said Barry Johnson, associate dean for research of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Research conducted in the new building will include the fields of nanotechnology, chemical engineering and material science and engineering.
The building will house offices as well as laboratories for undergraduate and graduate student use.
Johnson said the research facility "was intended to accommodate research the faculty was already doing but also to enable us to contribute in areas we had not been involved in."
Wilsdorf Hall is physically connected to the Chemistry Library, the Chemical Engineering building and the Material Science and Engineering building.
"The entire building was designed to create a collaborative atmosphere," Johnson said.
David Oakland, of VDMO Architects P.C., said, by connecting these various engineering buildings, they hoped to reflect the interdisciplinary nature of academic work.
Faculty members also said they hope the new facility will attract new faculty members and researchers.
"By showing them the quality of the space they can move into, we are attracting new faculty," said Robert Hull, director of the Institute for Nanoscale and Quantum Science at the University. "It's had a massive impact already."
According to a University press release, funding for the building was provided by the state, the University and donors. Lead benefactor Gregory Olsen, a 1971 SEAS graduate, donated a $15 million gift in honor of two professors, the late Heinz Wilsdorf and his wife Doris Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf. Wilsdorf was the first chair of the department of material science, and Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf was the first female professor at the University and also a professor of Olsen's. Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf is a current professor emeritus of material science.
Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf said she feels she and her husband are just two of many deserving people, and she is "very grateful and very honored" for the dedication.
"I feel great that I had the opportunity to contribute, because I owe my career to Virginia," Olsen said.
With his donation, Olsen said he hopes to help create an environment which encourages the study of 21st century science.
The dedication ceremony begins today at 3 p.m. in the Wilsdorf Hall courtyard. The ceremony will include addresses by University President John T. Casteen, III, Engineering School Dean James Aylor, Olsen and Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf.
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