Work is expected to begin in 2016 on a new six-story Science, Engineering Innovation and Research building at the University of Texas at Arlington.
The 200,000-square-foot facility, to be located south of the existing Life Science building and southeast of Pickard Hall that houses the College of Nursing and Innovation, will be the first new academic and research facility on the UT Arlington campus since the Engineering Research Building opened in 2011. The project will be supported in part by the $70 million in tuition revenue bonds – funds used to pay for construction on public university campuses – which state lawmakers approved in this year’s legislative session.
The new facility will allow the UTA College of Engineering to grow to 10,000 students by 2020. Current enrollment is 6,000 engineering students. The SEIR building also will help further the university’s emerging concentration in health science initiatives.
“Demand for degrees in engineering, science, nursing and allied health careers continues to grow, and given our substantial academic and research strength in these areas, UT Arlington is well positioned to become a national leader in health science with the addition of this collaborative research and teaching facility and state-of-the-art innovative laboratory space,” President Vistasp M. Karbhari said.
The SEIR building will house faculty and students in areas related to the health sciences and biomedical engineering.
Completion of the project is expected in 2018.