Hundreds of alumni and friends tour extraordinary new building

The UCLA Samueli School of Engineering officially opened its newest building, Engineering VI, in grand style Saturday, with hundreds of alumni and friends touring the state-of-the-art facility.

With 150,000 sq-ft of added research and teaching spaces, the new building ‘s debut signals a new era for UCLA Samueli– one focused on fostering life-changing breakthroughs that address the toughest challenges of the 21st century and educating some of the world’s most innovative problem solvers.

L to R: Vijay K. Dhir, former dean and distinguished professor; Chancellor Gene Block; Dean Jayathi Muthy; Henry Samueli.

“Our goals are nothing short of setting a new standard for what an engineering school can be, one that is truly collaborative, entrepreneurial and fearless in its pursuit of excellence,” said Jayathi Murthy, Ronald and Valerie Sugar Dean of Engineering, in her opening remarks.

The ceremony kicked off with remarks from UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, who said the building was a physical reminder of the university’s commitment to discovery and that it will help the school continue to attract the best and brightest students and faculty members.

The school will add an additional 1,000 students and 50 faculty members over the next few years, with an emphasis on four cornerstones of excellence: research, education, access, and entrepreneurship.

“We have a magnificent opportunity to make something truly special here, one of the great engineering schools in the world,” said Henry Samueli, CTO and co-founder of Broadcom, whose generous gifts to the school over the past two decades have included major support for capital projects, including the new E-VI building.

A ribbon cutting ceremony at the main entrance was held to officially declare the building open. Following the ceremony, several research labs in both wings were open for visitors.

The six-level, 60,000 sq-ft North Wing opened in 2015. It includes research laboratories working on renewable energy, nanotechnology, quantum electronics and new healthcare technologies. It also houses one of the world’s most technologically advanced laboratories, where vibrational isolation and electromagnetic shielding enable highly sensitive measurements at subatomic levels.

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