Engineering at UM-Flint seeing major growth

FLINT, Michigan—Engineering at UM-Flint is going through some major growth—with even more big changes on the way.

The most recent addition: the Engineering Design Studio & Learning Space.

The space, carved out of the Harrison Street Parking Ramp, is covered by fresh, clean, pale yellow paint and filled with commotion and bright ideas.

At the unveiling ceremony on Thursday, April 12, 2017, students displayed their senior design projects, research, and machines—including the Baja racing vehicle built and designed by students in the Society of Automotive Engineering club as well as a 3D printer and wind tunnel.

“It’s going to be fantastic because the shop we had before was like an eighth of this size. We could barely fit the Baja in and…we could only have like two people working around it at a time because we had such limited space,” said Kristen Rusinek, captain of the university’s Baja Racing Team. “Now having a huge space that has all the equipment that we need is fantastic.”

This new space will help serve the university’s increased commitment to STEM education, including:

• Addition of a new degree program. The Master of Science in Engineering will be offered starting in the Fall of 2017.
• Plans for a massive addition to the campus science building. Murchie Science Building—which is used at some point by virtually every UM-Flint student—is looking to add a third wing with additional research and collaboration space through a $29.5 million expansion.
• Innovative partnership with Ann Arbor campus: Through a 2+2 Engineering Program—in which students take two years of classes at UM-Flint and can be automatically admitted into the engineering program at U-M Ann Arbor—students in 15 different engineering majors were granted guaranteed admittance. Two years into the partnership, it has a 100 percent graduation rate.

“What this program does is it lowers the cost on people in terms of tuition and room and board, so rather than spending four or five years in Ann Arbor this provides a bridge for them to come here and (create) a transition,” said Mojtaba Vaziri, associate chair of engineering at UM-Flint.

These additions help the university to serve its growing number of students studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, said Susan Gano-Phillips, dean of UM-Flint’s College of Arts and Sciences.

The university reports a 58 percent increase in enrollment in STEM majors over the past 10 years—representing more than 500 additional majors.

“This facility and our future planning for the Murchie Science Building addition are about strengthening our academic program quality at the University of Michigan-Flint, improving student success, and aligning our intellectual strengths with the future,” said Douglas Knerr, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs.

The new Engineering Design Studio & Learning Space in the Harrison Street Parking Ramp will serve the growing number temporarily, until the expansion of Murchie is completed.

Afterward, the space will be converted to a dance studio with a black box theater.