Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) recently celebrated the newest addition to the Roy G. Perry College of Engineering with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Vaughn served as construction manager-at-risk for this new academic building to accommodate the engineering program’s rapid growth. ENCARB is the College’s first new facility in nearly two decades and now home to over 1,100 students and more than 100 faculty members, researchers, and staff. The new building’s flexibility and modularity will allow PVAMU engineering programs to grow and change in the future.
The university’s $70 million, 106,000 SF Engineering Classroom and Research Building (ENCARB) overlooks PVAMU’s enthralling farmlands. Nearly two-thirds of ENCARB, dedicated to classroom instruction, features six generalized instructional classrooms and 14 specialized labs. The lab spaces support multidisciplinary research in space exploration, data analytics, artificial intelligence, robotics, structural analysis, 3-D manufacturing, and more. The remaining third of the facility provides research lab space for faculty and graduate students. The building is one of a few in the nation with a microgravity drop tower for research in space-related conditions.
“The building provides state-of-the-art technical spaces that support hands-on learning and research activities that are critical to the field of engineering,” said Pamela Obiomon Ph.D., dean of the Roy G. Perry College of Engineering. “It has spatial connections and openings to increase the connectivity of students and faculty, as well as create energy and opportunities for collaboration.”