…The third building to open this year is the $15.4 million Center for Applied Technology and Sculpture west of the Memorial Union. The 58,000 square foot building will house laboratories and lecture space for courses in CAD, graphics, woodworking, metalworking, plastics, robotics and construction management, as well as studios for sculpture and metal foundry. Aside from some work on the roofing membrane that started Monday, the building is ready, Cunningham said. “Most of the equipment is all moved into the building, and the faculty is slowly migrating in there as well,” he said. Eric Deneault, assistant professor of applied technology, said the building has a “wow” factor. The building is student-centered, he said, with an atrium-like commons area off the main entrance and a “cafe” with tables and bar-like seating. Classroom computer upgrades include the ability for faculty to “push” lecture materials to student computers rather than using overhead projectors, and dual monitors so students can watch a tutorial on one and work on the other. There also are stand-alone drafting tables and the campus’ only dedicated STEM lab “We’ve always been able to serve our students with the highest level of technology. But now the building matches that,” Deneault said. “Davis served us well. But the opportunities now that this building possesses … we don’t even know what it can do,” he said…

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By: Jolie Green, jgreen@dailynews.net The Hays Daily News