Old Engineering Hall
Encyclopedia
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The building was completed for $1.2 million in October, 1955. The seven floor building connects Allen Hall
Allen Hall (University of Pittsburgh)
Allen Hall at the University of Pittsburgh is a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark and a contributing property to the Schenley Farms National Historic District. Completed in 1914 and originally serving as the home to the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, the six...
and Thaw Hall
Thaw Hall
Thaw Hall is an historic academic building on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh that is a contributing property to the Schenley Farms National Historic District and has been named a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark...
, as well as the Van de Graaff Building which was added later. The frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
around the top of the building includes bas-relief of the insignia of several engineering societies. Originally called Engineering Hall, it initially contained engineering offices, classrooms, laboratories, a library, and in the basement, a wind tunnel for the aeronautical engineering department testing of airfoil surfaces.
When the School of Engineering
Swanson School of Engineering
The Swanson School of Engineering is the engineering school of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846, The Swanson School of Engineering is the second or third oldest in the United States.- History :...
moved into Benedum Hall
Benedum Hall
Michael L. Benedum Hall of Engineering is a landmark academic building on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The building was designed by the architectural firm of Deeter, Ritchey, and Sippel and completed in 1971 at a cost of $15 million...
in 1971, it began to house a variety of psychology and other labs, as well as Art and Sciences instruction labs on the 3rd floor, and the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures.http://mac10.umc.pitt.edu/u/FMPro?-db=ustory.fp5&-format=d.html&-lay=a&-sortfield=issueid%3a%3aissuedate&-sortorder=descend&keywords=old%20engineering%20hall&-max=50&-recid=38850&-find=
Renovations, upgrades, and improvements for Old Engineering Hall, Allen Hall
Allen Hall (University of Pittsburgh)
Allen Hall at the University of Pittsburgh is a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark and a contributing property to the Schenley Farms National Historic District. Completed in 1914 and originally serving as the home to the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, the six...
, and Thaw Hall
Thaw Hall
Thaw Hall is an historic academic building on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh that is a contributing property to the Schenley Farms National Historic District and has been named a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark...
, have been announced and preliminarily targeted in to be in excess of $58.6 million according to the University's 12-year facilities master plan. A new set of physics labs was completed in 2009 on the second floor of OEH, replacing the former Physics and Geology Library; its collection was merged into the engineering library across the street in Benedum Hall
Benedum Hall
Michael L. Benedum Hall of Engineering is a landmark academic building on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The building was designed by the architectural firm of Deeter, Ritchey, and Sippel and completed in 1971 at a cost of $15 million...
. In 2010, it was announced that $28.2 million was allocated to proceed with the creation and renovation of 13 Department of Astronomy and Physics laboratories located in Allen Hall, Old Engineering Hall, and the Van de Graaff Building.
Van de Graaff Building
Particle accelerator
A particle accelerator is a device that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to high speeds and to contain them in well-defined beams. An ordinary CRT television set is a simple form of accelerator. There are two basic types: electrostatic and oscillating field accelerators.In...
obtained by the University's Nuclear Physics Laboratory. The accelerator, which had numerous advantages over existing cyclotrons of the time, was financed with a $1.65 million grant from the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
and a $1 million gift for the building construction obtained from the Sarah Mellon-Scaife foundation. The building construction and accelerator installation and operation were directed by Jim McGruer. The first beams from the accelerator were obtained in 1965. In November 2008, Pitt approved $6.1 million for upgrading labs and infrastructure in nanoscience research in the Van de Graaff Building. Work on the second floor and roof were completed in 2009. Work on the mid-campus backup generator, housed in 'the shoe' of the building (so called because it is a two story right angle projection from the freestanding end of the building) was completed in early 2010. Further renovations are planned utilizing funding obtained from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...
. Large scale excavation for the foundations of vibration isolating pads is underway on the first floor, and the second and third floors are in the process of interior demolition. The physics department machine shop and one laboratory on the second floor are continuing operations during construction, as they are not being altered.
External signage refers to the building as "Nuclear Physics Laboratory", and rooms are labeled with and referred to by the "NPL" prefix by many university personnel and departments. Pitt's official campus maps, and several internal departments, still list the building as the 'Van de Graaff Building', which is often a source of confusion.