Ground Broken For $20 Million
WKU Science Complex

Bowling Green, Ky. - Using a remote-controlled robotic shovel, Gov. Paul Patton helped Western Kentucky University break ground Friday morning on a science building that is part of the foundation of the state's high-tech future.

The ShovelBot, designed by WKU faculty member Ron Rizzo and electrical engineering students Jeff Fulkerson and Jessica Lassourreille, is an example of the innovative projects that will be completed in the Complex for Engineering and Biological Sciences.

Patton said he was pleased to assist as Western and the community "are taking one more step on this path to excellence in this area: excellence in education, excellence in the quality of your community and excellence in the economy that you're building in this part of southern Kentucky."

The $20 million, 76,000-square-foot building will house state-of-the-art laboratories for Western's emerging joint civil, mechanical and electrical engineering programs as well as the biology department's biotechnology center, biodiversity center and water quality lab.

The engineering and biology programs, along with others in Western's Applied Research and Technology Program, play an important role as economic development catalysts of the New Economy initiative to attract high-tech companies to Kentucky.

"This building project and the state's investment are more than just about bricks and mortar," WKU President Gary Ransdell told Patton. "What is culminating in this facility is the return on the state's investment in the program of distinction incentive fund, the statewide engineering strategy and the commitment to put postsecondary education at the top of your priority list."

The facility, to be built along Chestnut Street and Ogden Drive, is the first phase of an Ogden College of Science and Engineering revitalization project that will include the renovation of Thompson Complex, Snell Hall and Science and Technology Hall.

"The expansion of Western's science complex exemplifies many of the goals that were set for ourselves when Gov. Patton and the General Assembly started us on the path of reforming Kentucky's postsecondary education system in 1997," said Dr. Sue Moore, interim president of the Council on Postsecondary Education.

House Speaker Jody Richards said Western has accepted the challenges of education reform by boosting its enrollment, impacting the region's economy, providing quality academic programs and offering real-world experiences for its students.

Examples of the hands-on projects completed by Western students -- concrete canoe, steel bridge, off-road vehicle, robotics and microbiology research - were on display.

Engineering facilities will include an electronic classroom, student project design rooms, engineering prototype facility and laboratories and will support activities such as materials science, electronics, robotics, construction materials and dynamic systems.

Biology facilities will include research laboratories for ecology and conservation, microbiology, molecular and cell biology, aquatic biology, physiology, genetics, biotechnology and water resource studies.

"On this foundation and in this building a greater foundation will be created for Western Kentucky University, the city of Bowling Green, the commonwealth of Kentucky, our nation and our world," said Kent Guthrie, a member of WKU's engineering executive advisory committee.

Others participating were state Sen. Richie Sanders; Kristen Bale, chair of WKU's Board of Regents; Blaine Ferrell, dean of Ogden College; and Roger Greenwell, a senior in the biology program who presented an American chestnut tree that will be planted when the facility is dedicated.

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-WKU-