The Engineering Education and Research Center (EERC) at The University of Texas at Austin will be a locus of interdisciplinary interaction and an icon for engineering education. It will advance facilities and provide physical and inspirational space for 'productive collisions.'
It will lead the knowledge-based economy in Texas and beyond.
Building an engineering epicenter
The EERC will be the epicenter of engineering education at The University of Texas at Austin and in the State of Texas. It is the first step and highest priority in the Master Facility Plan at a cost of $290 million, and will be available for occupancy in 2016, subject to funding.
Creating space for innovation
The EERC's nearly 420,000 gross square feet will support new interdisciplinary research initiatives and major centers of excellence, in addition to providing new teaching space that will transform engineering education through interdisciplinary research collaborations.
Educating for the 21st century
Today's engineers need to be prepared for a career full of innovation and leadership. Modern engineering education requires hands-on laboratory instruction freshman through senior year, research opportunities and student-led design competitions. This cross-disciplinary student interaction will facilitate leadership experiences mirroring challenges students will solve in the work force.
Ensuring a new future for Electrical Engineering
The EERC will be the new home of the Cockrell School's largest department, Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), replacing the current Engineering Sciences Building. This will allow the centralization of ECE teaching, interdisciplinary research and student services, engaging industry and developing entrepreneurship through research and education programs.
Investing in people
Just as the Taylor-T Room defined a generation of engineering students from the 1950s through the 1980s, the EERC will define a new experience for the next generation of engineers. The EERC will be more than just a building, it will be the pulse of the engineering quadrant – where lifelong friendships are formed, entrepreneurial partnerships are ignited and life-changing ideas are born.
The Challenge
Engineering quad now
The Cockrell School of Engineering aspires to be a global center that addresses the grand challenges of society. However, today the Cockrell School is at a crossroads.
The Solution
Engineering quad with new building
The EERC will be the epicenter of engineering education at The University of Texas at Austin and in the State of Texas. It is the first step in the Master Facility Plan.
