This Academic Research Facilities Modernization Program (ARFMP) award from the Research Facilities Office provides funds to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte for the renovation and repair of Smith Engineering Building which houses that institution's civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering and computer science research and research training activities. This building was constructed in 1966 and has not been renovated since that time. The ARFMP grant of $200,000 and $200,850 provided by the grantee as cost sharing will be used to modernize these research and research training facilities and will help sustain the growth in and increasing technical demands of the research program of the College of Engineering. This project will address the need to improve the current research infrastructure by (a) providing better environmental control for the building, additional wiring to upgrade the data communications system between offices and laboratories in speed and capabilities, and space in the laboratories for graduate students; (b) locating or reconfiguring many of the research laboratories and support shops to achieve increased space with greater efficiency for use in new projects; and (c) improving the security of the laboratories. This award contributes to the infrastructure of science and engineering by providing an improved environment for the conduct of research and for the training of quality undergraduate and graduate students. Engineering research at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte has turned in recent years to several areas of significant national importance, including micro- and opto-electronics and computer-controlled manufacturing. Students trained in these laboratories, which will be better suited to such studies as a result of the renovation, are in demand in both basic and applied research fields.
