From a storage room to a multi-floor facility
In 2014, a makerspace facility called Longhorn Maker Studio opened in a former storage room in the basement of the Mechanical Engineering building (ETC). At about the same time, the plans for a new engineering building (EER) were modified to accommodate a larger facility – The National Instruments Center. Both of these actions grew from the vision and financial support of engineering alumnus, Jim Truchard. (Thank you Dr. T!)
In the fall of 2017, the Engineering Education and Research Center (EER) building opened, expanding the fabrication space available to the Cockrell School of Engineering from 1,700 square feet to more than 25,000 square feet. The growing program became Texas Inventionworks and the number of classes that leveraged the facility began to grow rapidly, soon including the intro classes in all seven engineering departments and design classes where engineering students collaborated with students from Dell Med and many other colleges.
What began in that single, converted storage room has grown into an expansive, multifaceted program and community.
