On a sunny afternoon in November, with gold shovels, bright blue hard hats, and blue and gold balloons, the computer science and engineering community at UC San Diego celebrated the start of a significant renovation for the building where most of its research and many of its classes take place.
The long-awaited renovation will add a student collaboration space on the first floor of the Computer Science and Engineering building. It will also add a 2,900 square foot state-of-the-art server room, which is key to the research of some of the department’s faculty. The additional server capacity will also allow the department’s artificial intelligence researchers to make advances.
“Like all of the new buildings on campus, this will be a place where Tritons can access a mix of facilities, resources and expertise unlike anywhere else,” said UC San Diego Executive Vice Chancellor Elizabeth Simmons.
This transformative project will revitalize the east wing and basement, creating a state-of-the-art server room and a dynamic student collaboration area.
By 2026, these enhancements will foster a culture of innovation, strengthen our community, and prioritize sustainability with LEED certification.
Project highlights include:
- The new server room in the basement will be a 2,900 square-foot state-of-the-art facility that can host high-end servers, including direct-to-chip liquid-cooled solution.
- The room will accommodate 1.2MW of power and cooling, and will be designed for future expansion. The scope addresses ADA improvements, meets the UCOP Sustainable Practices Policies and is targeting LEED certification.
- The new server room will help meet the computing needs of the future, and will propel CSE into the new age of artificial intelligenceI computing.
- Thirteen new staff offices for shared and hybrid work, and an area dedicated to student collaboration, will be created.
Simmons and all other university officials who were part of the ceremony wore a bright blue hard hat and used a golden shovel to symbolically break ground on the project.
“This facility renovation is dedicated as much to the fundamental research on cloud architecture as it is a teaching tool for enhancing hands-on learning for our students,” said UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering Dean Albert P. Pisano.
“Collaboration and efficiency are at the forefront of this project and I look forward to seeing first-hand how, upon completion, our student community will benefit from the increased functionality and access that this redesign provides,” Pisano said.
The impetus for the renovation came about four years ago, when computer science professor Sorin Lerner became chair. The department was running out of space, both in its physical location and in its computing needs.
“Now we will have the capacity we need,” he said.
Read more about the project at the renovation page here.
By Ioana Patringenaru and Katie E. Ismael