News Story

Clark School Alumni Wowed by Kim Building

It was a toss-up. Some alums were most impressed by the striking three-story rotunda, with its sweeping circular staircase. Some were amazed by the enormous clean room facility—to be used for microelectronics fabrication and semiconductor assembly—which will filter air-borne particles smaller than the diameter of a human hair. One tour member was clearly stunned to learn that a Starbucks coffee bar might find a space in the airy and beautiful Lockheed Martin Lounge. "Things are really looking up for engineering," she noted. Another tour member pointed to a sign at the entrance to a wet lab that read "Your Name Here" and smiled, saying, "Some things never change. They're always hoping for a donation."

The occasion was the first University of Maryland Alumni Association-Engineering Chapter Reunion, on October 15, for members of the classes of 1979, 1964 and 1954. Groups of alumni and their spouses met for a light breakfast with dean Nariman Farvardin and Engineering Chapter president Ralph Wheeler, CE '79. Then, led by Clark School director of alumni affairs Cornelia Kennedy, they toured the Kim Engineering Building, now approaching completion. To learn more about the Kim Building, go to www.eng.umd.edu/kim. To learn more about the Alumni Association Engineering Chapter, see www.eng.umd.edu/alumni.

October 15, 2004