Purdue to dedicate new civil engineering lab
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University will dedicate the new Lyles Family Ideas to Innovation Laboratory at 3:30 p.m. Friday (April 8) in the Civil Engineering Building.
"The Lyles Family I2I lab will be the first teaching laboratory at Purdue to seamlessly integrate lectures, hands-on experimentation and computer simulation," said M. Katherine Banks, the Bowen Engineering Head and Jack and Kay Hockema Professor of Civil Engineering. "Undergraduate students will not only be trained in fundamental science, but also exposed to the use of computer simulation tools."
The laboratory, in room G150, is designed to be a flexible space that can be divided into four specialized areas and will contain workstations for students to conduct simulations related to experimental systems. It has a glass wall on the upper level to provide a view of educational projects for visitors, including touring school students, prospective Purdue students and their parents, alumni, and corporate representatives.
The new $1.5 million lab is funded by a lead gift of $750,000 from Purdue alumni Bill Lyles, Gerald Lyles and Marybeth Lyles Higuera. Bill and Gerald Lyles received bachelor's degrees in civil engineering in 1955 and 1964, respectively. Gerald Lyles also received a master's degree in industrial administration in 1971. Marybeth Lyles Higuera received a bachelor's degree in speech-language pathology in 1959. The family's Purdue connection dates back a century; more than a dozen Lyles have received Purdue degrees.
Additional funds for the lab were made possible by the School of Civil Engineering and gifts from David Boyd, who received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1960; Carlos Hernandez, who earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering, and Deborah Hernandez, who earned a bachelor's degree in consumer and family sciences, both in 1976.
In addition to focusing on undergraduate education, the I2I laboratory will be used to attract K-12 students to civil engineering, Banks said. A series of educational modules for outreach as well as an innovative website allows schools from around the country to peek into the laboratory to view experiments and computer animation.
"In addition, we plan to develop a joint program with local area high schools to provide these young students with hands-on experience in civil engineering," Banks said.
Marybeth Lyles Higuera gave $10 million in 2009 to the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences. The gift will be used to fund construction of the Lyles-Porter Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences facility, which bears the name of the donor's families.
Writer: Emil Venere, 765-494-4709, venere@purdue.edu
Source: M. Katherine Banks, 765-494-2256, kbanks@purdue.edu