By: Elizabeth Ryan
Engineering and design may seem like an unlikely partnership, but for a group working to redesign lab space for student groups, it’s the coolest part of their project.
University of Minnesota students from the College of Science and Engineering and the College of Design have been working on a project to redesign and renovate three rooms in Keller Hall for student groups’ use. Renovations should start this summer and be finished before fall semester starts.
Between professors working on research, a multitude of student group meetings and engineering courses, it’s difficult for students to find space to work on their own projects on campus. Redesigning the rooms in Keller Hall will allow students 24-hour lab access.
Kyle Dukart, an academic advisor for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, said the college will foot the $20,000 bill, which is still being finalized and approved by CSE administration.
Students first presented the idea to CSE administration last spring but “got serious” in the fall, Dukart said. The student groups Tesla Works, Innovative Engineers and Eta Kappa Nu currently use the lab space.
Overall, more than 25 students are working on the project, including several who responded to an email asking for students with a background in design who wanted to help design a new layout for the rooms.
Sarah Wolf, architecture senior, contributed her design skills to the project, finding different configurations for the spaces to be more user friendly and drawing blueprints for the labs. The group told her to “aim high” and plan for “whatever” she thought was the best for the project.
“We’re excited to get more kids in the room and hopefully more people will join student groups,” said Alex Miller, vice president of Innovative Engineers. “Less of, Innovative Engineers is giving up their space, and more that kids are getting involved with student groups.”
Miller said the biggest challenge is scheduling. Ideally, no one wants to give up time in the space.
“We’re looking at finding the best way to manage it,” Miller said. “I think if managed well, it will just be a little hurdle.”
Enter FIDO, a Tesla Works project aiming to solve this problem.
FIDO would be a centralized computer service comparable to J.A.R.V.I.S from Iron Man, said Tesla Works vice president Hunter Dunbar. The program, once completed, would control access to the labs and help with safety concerns.
“It will only turn on a power tool if you are able to use it and have the training to use it,” Dunbar said.
FIDO has been in development this past semester and should have a prototype by the end of the fall, Dunbar said.
It’s projects like this that Dukart and the students heading the redesign project hope the space will be used to showcase. Prospective students visiting the University can tour Keller Hall and see a hands-on workspace for engineering students outside of class.
Miller said she hopes tour groups come by the newly renovated labs in the fall often.
“I would hope the inner nerd in them comes out a little bit and think, ‘Oh my gosh, this is really cool!’”