Efficiency is the goal behind a new engineering laboratory that just opened at the University of North Texas's Discovery Park.
On Tuesday, leaders in the College of Engineering cut the ceremonial ribbon on the new, 30,000 square foot PACCAR Technology Institute Labs.
The space features a number of laboratories and classrooms and houses millions of dollars worth of high tech equipment to help in technology, materials and bio-mass engineering.
"A lot of applications from the automotive industry even to dealing with oil spills," said Dean Costas Tsatsoulis.
The lab space features areas focused on nano-technology, bio-fuel development, and the engineering of woods and metals. Working with various different industries they hope to use their technology to advance processes in the field and create better ways of doing everything from making a car or plane run to making batteries hold a charge.
Deans in the department said they've even already had interest from the U.S. Navy and Boeing to work with them.
"A lot of new technologies and a lot of new methods of doing things better and cheaper," said Tsatsoulis. "It's an enabler and allows us to do much better quality work and also allows us to help in the economic development of the area and the region."
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The lab has been in physical development for the last two years with the help of grants and sponsorship. Construction crews continue to build some sections of it but others are already up and running with students from undergraduate to the PhD level taking part.
The new laboratory space will benefit research from several of the college's departments including biomedical engineering, engineering technology, materials science and engineering, and mechanical and energy engineering.
