By Alexander Gilbert
The College of Engineering is currently looking into expanding its facilities with a massive renovation of Rivers Memorial Hall, which currently houses a number of clubs and offices and is a primary location for many events and presentations at the University. The new engineering facility, located in the existing building of Rivers, will consist of additional labs, office space, and a brand new Center for Advanced Manufacturing Systems.
Dr. Hossein Cheraghi, the Dean of the College of Engineering, explained that the current building, Sleith Hall, is quickly being outgrown by the evolving needs of engineering students and faculty. He noted that new programs and concentrations, such as construction management and aerospace engineering, do not have their own laboratories and that there is minimal space left for faculty offices and faculty-led research. In particular, the concrete lab is currently overcrowded with concrete research, lab periods for various classes, the steel bridge team, and students constructing their senior projects.
Cheraghi explained that with “all of those put together, and the fact that we really want to grow further in different areas, the University decided that probably the best option would be to look at Rivers.”
The first objective of expanding the College of Engineering into Rivers is to construct the WNE Center for Advanced Manufacturing Systems, which is partially funded by a $1.1 million investment from the Healey-Driscoll Administration of Massachusetts. Governor Healey recently visited the laboratories of Western New England University and has been supporting technological advancement with her Mass Leads Act.
The facility will house new robotics and welding technologies that strive for “efficiency, precision, and automation,” according to the Western New England University website. Currently, the College of Engineering has already received two CoboWeldMIG robots and are planning to receive the larger KUKA KR500 FORTEC robot with a FSW head this summer. The new technology will assist students in learning and performing precise and efficient machining and welding.
Cheraghi is very passionate and excited about students having the chance to improve their technical skills and learn to weld at the new College of Engineering facility. He noted, “The Advanced Manufacturing Systems lab will include a virtual reality system” that will guide students through the process of welding. He explained, “Before doing the actual welding, students can be trained on how to correctly weld using this VR system.”
The VR welding simulation program will monitor the movement of the student’s hands and recognize if they’re closer or further from the material or moving faster or slower. At the end of the simulation, the program will give the student a score and note their areas to improve on. Cheraghi is impressed with the potential of the system, saying, “so you can practice and learn on the VR, so when you go and use the actual machine, you know how to do it.”
Western New England University is working closely with architecture firm Shepley Bulfinch to plan, design, and construct the layout for the College of Engineering’s new facility in Rivers. The University has done work with Shepley Bulfinch in the past and is ready to tackle this large project. In addition to assisting with the new layout of Rivers, the architectural firm is also investigating and planning out new space in the Campus Center for clubs and organizations who are displaced by the overhaul of Rivers.
The project is still in the feasibility stage of planning, so the exact timeline, specific layout of the new facility, and placement of relocated club offices are currently unavailable. Cheraghi is hopeful that the plans for the final design of Rivers will be completed by the end of the summer but notes that there is no official estimate of the construction timeline.
Rivers currently houses many clubs on campus, including Bold Media clubs such as the Review of Art and Literature, The Westerner, The Cupola Yearbook, and large studios for WNEK The Voice Radio and Golden Bear Television. In addition, Rivers is the center of music on campus, with band practices regularly held in the building, a piano free to use for all students, and meeting areas for Golden Bear Drumline and Golden Voices. The Muslim Prayer Space is also located in Rivers, providing a safe and peaceful place for students to practice the Muslim religion.
When asked when clubs and organizations are expected to move out of Rivers, Cheragi responded, “I don’t know the exact date, but I think it will be at the end of this semester or sometime next semester.”
Cheragi added that “the project is going to be done in multiple phases, so maybe a lab will be available, but not other labs. The Center for Advanced Manufacturing Systems we expect will be ready as soon as possible, because we have equipment that’s coming this summer.”
Cheraghi noted the other critical lab that needs to be added is the construction management lab, explaining that “we need to set that up because our construction management students don’t have any place to go and practice their discipline,” currently having to work in the overcrowded concrete lab.
In the new facility, The College of Engineering also plans to include a material characterization lab, a human performance lab, a jet and combustion engine testing lab, a larger maker space, a new conference space, and around a dozen additional offices for faculty, Ph.D. students, and researchers.
Cheraghi and the engineering faculty are very excited about the plans to grow the College of Engineering. Cheraghi concluded that the expansion is very important because “it provides us with the space that we need to grow our programs and create better opportunities for our students and faculty.”
