UF Chemical Engineering students, faculty and staff recently celebrated the reopening of the newly renovated Chemical Engineering Student Center and Carlos Rinaldi-Ramos, Ph.D., department chair, took a few moments to explain the background of the building, as well as future plans to remodel the entire chemical engineering building.
The Student Center was first opened on October 4, 2013, after 10 years of planning and fundraising. It was funded entirely by private donations, totaling $3.9 million. The nearly 10,000- square- foot building is located on the south side of the main chemical engineering building and has served as the heart of ChE activities for years. Unfortunately, the Student Center ground floor was closed in Spring 2017 due to problems with the concrete slab.
It once housed the administrative and advising offices on the second floor and the light-filled first floor was the scene of design and poster events, student group activities and department events. Additionally, there are niches around the building that were used by students for studying and practicing presentations.
Insurance covered some of the costs, but the project was delayed, mainly due to the pandemic, and as a result, the original estimates exploded due to supply shortages and rising prices. But Rinaldi-Ramos explained that for the past eight years, he has worked with staff and college administration to secure additional funding to repair and reopen the space.
The University of Florida invested $2.5 million to repair the first floor. An additional $400,000 will be used to remodel the second-floor offices to provide space for faculty and doctoral students, who will relocate to make way for the upcoming ~$40 million renovation of the main chemical engineering building. That renovation project is expected to take two years to complete and is starting this summer.
Rinaldi-Ramos was explicit in his praise of both the university and donors who made the remodeling of the beloved building a reality, particularly David Sante, the department’s facilities manager, who was the department’s liaison during the long process.
By Ada Lang
Marketing & Communications Specialist
