Renovations Provide Space for Biomedical Engineering Department

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A concept sketch of the future biomedical engineering department suite (image courtesy of HBRA Architects and Wittenberg, Delony and Davidson Architects)

John A. White Jr. Engineering Hall is currently being renovated to create office, classroom and lab space for the department of biomedical engineering, which was established in 2012. The College of Engineering is working with Wittenberg, Delony and Davidson Architects of Little Rock and HBRA Architects of Chicago on this project.

The renovation is expected to be completed in November of 2013. The new biomedical engineering space will include eleven offices, a conference room and two labs. One of these labs will provide a space for the capstone design class, while the other will be a biomaterials and bioinstrumentation teaching laboratory, featuring separate rooms for tissue culture, instrumentation, microscopy, autoclave and other technology to support students’ work. The biomedical engineering faculty research labs will remain at their present location at the Engineering Research Center.

The University of Arkansas biomedical engineering department, the first of its kind in the state, is growing rapidly. One hundred and nineteen students entered the department in the fall of 2012, and ninety-one new students are expected to begin biomedical engineering programs next fall, for a total of almost two hundred students in the program in the fall of 2013. Eight students are receiving bachelor’s degrees in biomedical engineering this spring, and two are receiving master’s degrees.

“We are excited to have a home for this new and growing program,” said Terry Martin, interim dean of the College of Engineering. “The biomedical engineering program is already producing top-notch graduates and it has the potential to be highly active in research. We hope we will be able to continue to provide the space this program needs to be successful.”

The College of Engineering is also working with Wittenberg, Delony and Davidson and HBRA on plans for a future renovation of the entire building. Future plans include adding a new wing, creating an additional biomedical engineering teaching lab and upgrading the labs and office spaces of other departments housed in the building— biological and agricultural engineering, electrical engineering, freshman engineering and the operations management program.

White Hall was one of the first two buildings on campus designed in a collegiate Gothic style of architecture that was part of the university's recently completed 100-year design plan. As part of the planned renovation project, the historic building, which dates from 1927, will be undergoing both a return to its roots and a modern update. The original high ceilings and transom windows are being restored, and additional restrooms are being added.

Martin explained that White Hall, built at a time when there were no female students in the college, needs additional facilities now that the number of women in the college has grown. “We look forward to restoring the original beauty of White Hall, and at the same time making sure it’s a fully modern facility with everything our students need,” he explained.