Donald Schmitt, a principal of Diamond and Schmitt Architects Inc.; Stephen Director, the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering; Kevin O’Connor, an alumnus and chairman of DoubleClick Inc.; Jerry Levin, an alumnus and chairman and CEO of American Household Inc.; Mary Sue Coleman, U-M president; and John Laird, associate chair of the Computer Science and Engineering Division and professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, turn shovels Nov. 21 at the North Campus site where construction is set to begin on a 104,000-gross-square-foot, four-story Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) Building. The instructional and academic facility to support computer science, information technology and related activities also will include a number of student learning spaces, and will house the college computer science and engineering faculty. The phased construction schedule calls for completion in winter 2006. The $40 million facility, which will be built into the hillside west of the Dow Building, will be funded from College of Engineering reserves and gifts.

CSE research comprises software, artificial intelligence, theoretical computer science, computer architecture and hardware. Research projects involve computer security, artificial intelligence and robotics, among others. (Photo by Martin Vloet, U-M Photo Services)