USU Holds Groundbreaking for New Engineering Lab Building

Utah State University engineering students will soon have a state-of-the-art engineering lab experience thanks to the generosity of USU alum David G. Sant.

Groundbreaking activities for the new David G. Sant Engineering Innovation Building will be held Friday, March 2, at 2 p.m., in the Performance Hall on the USU campus. A short program is planned, followed by light refreshments. All are welcome.

 

Sant is a graduate from USU’s electrical engineering program. He and his wife, Diann, have donated nearly $4 million to support USU’s College of Engineering and the construction of the new engineering innovation laboratory building at USU.

 

Explaining his motivation, Sant said he was looking for a substantial way to give back to the community that shaped his life. He said there is no better way to do that than to support the institutions that equipped him for his career.

 

“Having state-of-the-art facilities plays a very important role in attracting top-notch students and staff to USU’s College of Engineering,” said Sant. “Funded research adds to the image and the creative environment in the engineering school, and is important in making sure qualified students can attend and achieve their goals and make a difference in the future. The College of Engineering has been aggressive in becoming a world-class engineering school, and I am very pleased that it has chosen to honor me with this new building naming.”

 

The new engineering lab will consist of three floors totaling 34,000 square feet. The building will be 135 feet long by 84 feet wide. Each floor will have engineering laboratories of various sizes, with modular bays, allowing labs to grow as needed.

 

The cost of the lab building totals $13 million. The state of Utah has provided $6 million, and the remaining $7 million is being raised from private sources, including alumni, corporations and friends. Sant has been a leader in encouraging alumni to donate to the cause. 

 

“We continually strive to provide better engineering laboratory opportunities for our students and faculty,” said H. Scott Hinton, dean of the College of Engineering. “Dave’s gift will help us provide lab space to meet the needs of new faculty and the opportunity to enhance all engineering programs to match industry expectations. The lab will also provide space for faculty and students to develop technology prototypes that can be used to stimulate the technology transfer process from the university to the marketplace.”

 

Sant earned his bachelor’s and master’s in electrical engineering at USU in ’62 and ’64. He went on to earn an MBA from Santa Clara University. 

 

For more information, visit the USU College of Engineering Web site.