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August 21, 2008
Lawson Computer Science Building lauded for design
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - |
American School and University magazine honored architectural firm Gibraltar Design for its design of the building, which opened in 2006. Gibraltar architect Bill Cotterman presented the Outstanding Design Excellence plaque to university officials last month.
"Gibraltar designed the Richard and Patricia Lawson Computer Science Building to showcase the technology within computer science and the interactive nature of the field," said Tim Korb, assistant department head of computer science. "It's an honor for it to be recognized in this fashion. It's a credit to everyone involved with building the facility and will be a point of pride for the students and faculty who use it."
The 107,000-square-foot building, located at the corner of Third and University streets, cost $20 million and consolidated the computer science program from five to two buildings. All regular faculty in the Department of Computer Science have offices in Lawson.
The building provides meeting rooms and space for 45 faculty, 55 teaching assistants and 70 research assistants and houses four classrooms, five instructional labs, and four main research labs. Among the research laboratories is the state-of-the-art visualization laboratory.
Richard Lawson, a software industry executive who received his master's degree in computer science from Purdue in 1968, and his wife, Patricia, gave $4.7 million, the largest single private contribution for the building.
The Department of Computer Science was formed in 1962 and is recognized as one of the top computer science programs in the country. The department's mission is to advance the frontiers of computer science, expand the pool of qualified individuals working in the discipline, and to reach out both within and beyond the university to apply computational principles to technical and societal problems. The department offers bachelor's and master's degrees, as well as doctorate degrees. Currently, there are 450 undergraduate students and 150 graduate students enrolled. The graduate program is ranked 19th nationally by U.S.News and World Report.
Writer: Clyde Hughes, (765) 494-2073, jchughes@purdue.edu
Source: Tim Korb, (765) 494-6184, jtk@cs.purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
PHOTO CAPTION:
The Richard and Patricia Lawson Computer Science Building has been recognized by the American School and University magazine. (Purdue News Service file photo/David Umberger)
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