Jonsson Engineering Center

Introduction

The Jonsson Engineering Center, AKA JEC, is home to RPIs Engineering Department. It was opened in 1977 and is dedicated Mr and Mrs. J. Erik Jonsson who made a donation of $2.6 million towards the final cost of $17.8 million.

History

The JEC was part of a massive renovation project that the university was taking on to upgrade office spaces and to replace the aging Engineering facilities at the school. Part of this plan was to upgrade the Sage and Ricketts Buildings as well as building the Engineering Center. The ground breaking in 1974 was a very unique one, but one that only an engineer would think of. It was started with an underground explosion and was triggered by a long distance phone call from Mrs. Jonsson. Another fun fact about its construction is that the '86 field was called the '43 field during the construction. This is because half of the field was used as a staging area.

Modern Day

Today the JEC is still home to the Engineering department. It is 7 stories tall and resides on the south end of the 86 field. Each floor holds different disciplines within engineering. For instance, the 5th floor is for Aeronautical engineering and the 4th floor is for Civil Engineering. In the building, it contains a subsonic wind tunnel, the Engineering hub, which allows for students to talk to their advisors. Also, there is the OT Swanson Multidisciplinary Design Lab, which is where many capstone and project based classes take place. It also features multiple machine labs, where students can learn how to machine and create their own parts for their projects.

References

https://archives.rpi.edu/institute-history/building-histories/jonsson-engineering-center