AMHERST — Inside a room at the Physical Computing Makerspace on the University of Massachusetts campus, a 3D printer is fabricating a chalk case that a teaching assistant will use to carry writing utensils.
The case’s design started as a computer file, drawn up nearby by Bennett Gillig, a UMass graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in computer science.
The makerspace is one small corner of the newly completed Computer Science Laboratories, a 94,000-square-foot, $125 million building on Governors Drive that UMass Amherst officials, state leaders and donors celebrated Thursday, Sept. 10, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll joined donors Robert and Donna Manning, for whom the college is named, along with Chancellor Javier A. Reyes and college Dean Keith Marzullo, to mark the building’s completion in its second academic year.
“There’s a lot more space here for computer science, specifically,” Gillig said.
The fully equipped 4,000-square-foot makerspace, which supports both formal and informal learning and workshops at the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences, is attracting other students outside the computer science school, where they can also do laser cutting, soldering and do-it-yourself electronics.
“This is the best makerspace on campus,” says Yonatan Tevet-Markelevich, president of UMass Robotics and a mechanical engineering student who was demonstrating one of the robot-like dogs that had been built.
“If it’s computer science and hardware, they hang out here,” said Mike Pfeiffer, who has managed the makerspace for the past six years.
Now, with a much bigger room and more equipment variety, hackathon participants can be better accommodated and more collaborations can take place between students pursuing degrees in different disciplines, said Thomas Burns, the assistant director of Facilities and Infrastructure at the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences.
The makerspace is one area of the Computer Science Laboratories, which officials see as a hub for the future of computing and the commonwealth. The college’s philosophy is “computing for the common good.”
That philosophy comes at a time when questions exist about how AI, or artificial intelligence, will be used and its potential impact on society.
Robert Manning, former chairman of the UMass trustees, was explicit during his remarks about the ethical overlay that exists at UMass and how important the university can be in addressing the dangers posed by computers and AI.
“Computing for the common good, that is a powerful statement,” Manning said.
He said he is confident in the principles at UMass, which prompted the $18 million donation he and his wife made to the college, announced in November 2021.
He said computer technology should be seen as bettering the world. “It will enhance society if it’s treated properly,” Manning said.
Marzullo, dean of the college, discussed how the physical makerspace is where students can build things and how the Testing Environments for Mobile Platforms Lab, or TEMP Lab, is where mobile and robotic systems can be tested in a range of real-world conditions.
“This is the kind of space that allows us to do more,” Marzullo said.
Marzullo said there are also multidisciplinary opportunities in the laboratories for foundational and applied computing, in addition to classroom spaces, a café and three separate student commons.
“There’s so much to see and do here,” Marzullo said.
“This new building literally links the college’s two past facilities to each other, allowing for future generations of innovation to be built on our strong foundation of science and imagination,” Marzullo said. “It brings together the people, ideas and technologies that will shape the future of computing and the impact of computing on society.”
Reyes said the building positions UMass to strengthen its leadership, be a catalyst for innovation and “bolsters the Massachusetts innovation economy well into the future.”
“This remarkable space is a strong symbol of the university’s commitment to innovation, collaboration and discovery, a commitment that will continue to drive progress and opportunity across the university and the commonwealth,” Reyes said.
Driscoll said the building celebrates the sentiment that when collective action invests in people and higher education, discoveries and research can be completed that will improve people’s lives, and address challenges and problems in the state.
“It’s not by accident that we make investments that can lead the way forward,” Driscoll said.
“Great innovation happens when talented people have the tools, spaces and connections to turn ideas into action,” Driscoll said, adding the investment is “not just in a building, but in the people and ideas that will shape our future.”
Adam Lechowicz, a graduate student, is researching the impact of data centers and other electrified infrastructure. Serving on the building committee, he said the building allows students to be more connected and able to achieve more, leading to better outputs.
The ceremony came nearly four years after a groundbreaking attended by then-Gov. Charlie Baker, whose administration initially released the money needed for the building project. Others on hand for the ribbon-cutting were Joseph Sullivan, a UMass trustee, and Mary Burns, who chairs the UMass Building Authority.
In June, UMass announced that the building earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Platinum certification, the first building on the Amherst campus to achieve this distinction.
The LEED rating system, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, includes energy and water efficiency, indoor environmental quality and sustainable site development.
Designed by Perkins Eastman, the building also includes a 240-seat lecture hall and two modern, flexible 60-seat classrooms.
The building also serves as a model for the UMass Carbon Zero initiative, in which the university is working to counteract climate change and power the commonwealth’s 1,500-acre flagship campus with 100% renewable energy by around 2032.
Among the building’s features are passive and active systems to avoid the use of fossil fuels and significantly reduce operational energy use despite high plug loads associated with computational labs. Green elements include the mass timber structure, meaning a 58% reduction in embodied carbon compared to a conventional steel-and-concrete baseline, low-emitting and environmentally friendly building materials and a ground source heat exchange system that combines 70 geothermal wells, heat recovery chillers, and a 2.3-million-gallon thermal energy storage tank.
In addition to the ribbon-cutting, the event featured tours of the building and an opportunity to interact with students discussing some of their projects, as well as a dedication of the Jim Kurose Conference Room, named for a distinguished professor emeritus in recognition of a 40-year career at UMass.
Before the ceremony began, while guests were gathered in the main atrium before entering the auditorium, a brief protest involving UMass unionized employees featured shouting and chanting, with demands that the university abandon Kronos, a timekeeping and attendance system.
