Engineering students get first-hand look at Quad-C

To many people, the Computer Chip Commercialization Center (Quad-C) under construction on the SUNYIT campus means nanotechnology, cleanrooms and high-tech jobs. For SUNYIT students, the $125 million project is like having a real-world, outdoor laboratory right outside their classroom.

Recently the first of many planned student tours of the construction site took place, hosted by project contractor M+W Group. More than two dozen freshman civil engineering students in safety vests and hard hats were given a guided tour and a briefing on the Quad-C, a joint effort between the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), SUNYIT, and Mohawk Valley EDGE that supports Governor Andrew Cuomo’s vision and leadership in harnessing the power of education and innovation to spur economic opportunity and growth.

“Thanks to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s innovation-enabled strategy for high-tech education and economic development, SUNYIT students have unique, hands-on educational opportunities,” said Robert E. Geer, acting president of SUNYIT. “Getting a first-hand look at this amazing project from the ground up is just the beginning for our current and future students. They will have access to facilities and opportunities available to few other college students in the world.”

Students on the tour were accompanied by Steven Wei, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at SUNYIT.

“This presents first-hand, real-world engineering experience,” Wei said. “It shows them what their career could be like.” Seeing engineering principles put to use in the construction of the Quad-C, Wei said, gives students a chance to see what types of futures await them.

“I’ve always been interested in robotics. That’s something I’d like to do, and definitely something with mechanical engineering,” said Alex Kracht of Ithaca, N.Y. “There is a lot of interaction between a lot of engineering disciplines here on the Quad-C site.”

Although they were just a few weeks into their first semester of college, students on the tour were quick to realize the value of the Quad-C initiative to their educational experience.

“Anyplace else, you don’t see what goes on. If you see a construction site, you only see the cranes and things,” said Camille Asknes of Brooklyn, N.Y. “You don’t get to see what goes on inside. Here, you get to see what goes on from the ground up.”

Although the students plan to specialize in various engineering disciplines, the Quad-C site is providing a large cross-section of civil and mechanical engineering activities, all right within walking distance of their classroom.

“They are learning something useful, something practical that provides career opportunities,” Wei said. “And it’s important for society because what they build will have lasting value.”