TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama’s College of Engineering will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony and dedication for its new Student Engineering Projects Building, located behind (east) Hardaway Hall, on Friday, Sept. 5, at 11 a.m.

The new Student Engineering Projects Building is the only building on the UA campus that will be used strictly for engineering student projects, and no research or classes will be held in it. It is the only building used in this manner in the state and only the third building like it in the Southeast, said Dr. Timothy J. Greene, dean of UA’s College of Engineering.

The new Student Engineering Projects Building has already been a learning tool for many UA engineering students. Mechanical engineering students helped with the air conditioning and heating design; civil engineering students helped with the foundation and the structure design; and electrical engineering students helped with the electrical system design.

Student engineering projects expected to be built in the new building in the near future include a concrete canoe, a Society of Automotive Engineers mini formula one race car, a NASA moon buggy, and a mini steel bridge.

Donors that helped make this project a reality for UA students include Dr. & Mrs. Arthur Taylor Jr., BE&K Inc., Brasfield & Gorrie, S.T. Bunn Construction Co. Inc. and Addison Products Co.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became the first university in the state to offer engineering classes and was one of the first five in the nation to do so. Today, the College of Engineering has about 1,900 students and more than 90 faculty. It has been fully accredited since accreditation standards were implemented in the 1930s.