Gannon University continued expansion with the dedication and blessing of the Center for Advanced Engineering (CAE) by the Most Rev. Lawrence T. Persico, bishop of Erie, Monday morning.

The building formerly housed the Erie Technology Incubator (ETI) and sits across from the Palumbo Academic Center at 130 W. Eighth St.

When the ETI moved to the new Center for Business Ingenuity last spring, the space was available for consolidating three engineering departments in the CAE.

The CAE is home to mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering and the new industrial engineering programs. The building pays tribute to engineers in its design with exposed support beams at the main entrance and a curved stairway atypical to academic buildings.

William L. Scheller, Ph.D., dean of the College of Engineering and Business, said the CAE is designed to be a place where students and faculty come together to learn, experiment and serve.

“The core of engineering is service,” Scheller said. “As engineers, we serve humanity though design, production and service in order to make lives better and more productive.”

Gannon University President Keith Taylor, Ph.D., acknowledged the beneficiaries and architects who made the building possible.

“We had a lot of people who put in a lot of hard work,” Taylor said.

Taylor said the CAE is a place to make progress in a year of renovation, especially with the opening of the Ruskin, Fla., campus and the renaming of McConnell Family Stadium.

“Each new renovation has been a domino set forth in a structured plan to innovate learning,” Taylor said.

He said the CAE will offer opportunities not only to students in engineering but also collaborative projects and research with other fields.

“Creative work is just the beginning,” Taylor said. “We are celebrating more than a collection of bricks and beams; we are also celebrating new opportunities that this facility will provide to students.”

Carolynn Masters, Ph.D., the provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, thanked the faculty and staff for doing their best to attract top quality students and faculty in order to be able to open this facility.

“Gannon has continued to enjoy intentional growth — growth of students, the footprint within in the community and growth within academic programs — especially engineering,” Masters said.

The building hosts new biomedical engineering labs with technology like robotic, virtual reality manipulators that let students study muscle movement at different levels and design practical medical devices.

The industrial engineering department will have labs that focus on ergonomics and work design. The equipment for these labs will be easily transported for different exercises between faculty and students.

Ikechukwu Ohu, Ph.D., an assistant professor of industrial engineering, said the opening of the building is very exciting to him and engineering students.

“[We can] never forget we have the responsibility to make sure students follow the right path to knowledge,” Ohu said.

Zach Wolf, a junior biology and pre-med major and Student Government Association president, said students are blessed to have another amazing academic building.

“As students, we are realizing this university is investing itself in our futures and paving our way for success,” Wolf said. “It’s not hard to see we’re moving in the right direction.

“Gannon is staying true to its promise of ‘believing in the possibilities.’”

KELSEY GHERING
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