新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis students now have expanded access to advanced engineering equipment, in a space all their own, largely because of a woman who looked beyond the career paths her parents laid out for her.
鈥淲hen I was young, my parents would say that when I graduated from high school, I was either going to get married and have children or I was going to go to beauty school and be a hairstylist,鈥 Diane Bryant 鈥85, CEO and chair of medical robotics company NovaSignal, said Friday (May 5) at the grand opening of the Diane Bryant Engineering Student Design Center. She contributed $6.5 million to the project 鈥 the largest outright gift ever by an individual to the College of Engineering.
WOMEN & PHILANTHROPY
This is one of two stories today on philanthropy by women, the other being about Deborah Neff 鈥76 and her gift to the College of Biological Sciences. 鈥淲omen are among the most impactful philanthropists to 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis, spearheading visionary gifts across the university,鈥 said Shaun B. Keister, vice chancellor of Development and Alumni Relations.
Construction took just under two years and cost $22 million, all donor funded, to create a 23,000-square-foot design center (more than 2陆 times the size of the old one) with instruction and meeting rooms, along with a variety of specialized tools and spaces for prototyping and manufacturing.
鈥淭his is a historic moment for this campus,鈥 Chancellor Gary S. May said. 鈥淎fter all, this is a space where the Aggie engineer will be born.鈥
Students using the center Friday praised its size and equipment, saying it will provide for easier access.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot more space, a lot more opportunity,鈥 said Christopher D鈥橢lia, a graduate student in mechanical and aerospace engineering who was overseeing demonstrations of two of the center鈥檚 computer numerical control, or CNC, machines. More than $500,000 in new machinery was added during the renovation, bringing the total to 11 lathes and 15 mills.
Anthony Aguilar, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, was demonstrating a class project with three other students that was 3D printed at the Craft Center across the street. The center鈥檚 new Electronics and Rapid Prototyping Lab also features 3D printing, laser cutting, soldering stations and other electronics, which students of all majors can access with just one hour of training.
鈥淗ere there can be more people learning at the same time,鈥 Aguilar said.
The a welding room, a carpentry and plastics room, a composites wet lab and more.
Students who are members of the 鈥淏aum Squad鈥 鈥 named for John Baum 鈥69 and his wife, Mindy, who gave an early gift of $5 million to the project 鈥 will be on hand to provide assistance and guidance with the equipment.
鈥淭he ESDC, as we lovingly call it, will no doubt have a transformational impact on our students through extraordinary, hands-on learning experiences,鈥 Dean Richard Corsi told attendees at the grand opening.
The center isn鈥檛 just for engineering majors, either 鈥 students from across campus can visit the co-located and gain access to training to use the machines and tools in the space.
Equity in engineering
From that cross-disciplinary access to the large windows where students can be seen at work, the center was created to bring new people into engineering 鈥 an idea Bryant and others championed.
鈥淲e need to create an environment that is more inclusive and inviting of diverse students, whether that's diversity in economics, gender, race, in life experience in general,鈥 she said, recalling how she was one of only eight women in her 200-person basic engineering course.
Rowan Glenn, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering demonstrating a coordinate measuring machine, said the field has improved since then.
鈥淚t has definitely become more inclusive, not just for women but for queer people,鈥 said Glenn, a rainbow painted on the side of their safety glasses. Glenn, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, said they have felt welcomed into the new design center. 鈥淲hen I鈥檓 here I鈥檓 just an engineer.鈥
, also a junior majoring in mechanical engineering, said as a woman of color she was worried about fitting in as an engineer, but hasn鈥檛 had any issues at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis.
鈥溞掳拿帕喜誓谀恍畔 Davis is one of the best universities in the nation for women in engineering,鈥 she said.
Thousands of students will be reminded of that fact whenever they pass the center, which faces the busy bike pathway south of the South Silo.
鈥淪eeing Diane鈥檚 name on the building every day shows students from all backgrounds that they can achieve anything they work for,鈥 May said.
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Cody Kitaura is a News and Media Relations Specialist in the Office of Strategic Communications, and can be reached by email or at 530-752-1932.